I Love You 3000
by meantforinfinitesadness
Summary: A breach in the multiverse has a Tony from somewhere else dropping into a world that's just lost their Tony. With the pain of losing her husband still fresh, Pepper has a hard time letting this new Tony into her and her daughter's life. Little does she know, this Tony feels the same way.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't a light drizzle that hit the windows of the house far from the city. In fact, Pepper wouldn't call it a drizzle at all. It was harsh, pounding rain that hit the window. Her eyes traced the tracks that were left by the rain before flicking over to her daughter that lay peacefully on the couch.

The two had been up for hours. It was a night where they could feel the absence of their loved one more harshly than before. Most days, they could go through their days without so much as a stray tear. Other days, they sat together in bed or on the couch and flipped through the scrapbook that sat on the table. Pepper would trace the outline of Tony's face softly, whispering to her daughter about the man, telling her stories of a time before she was born.

That's what they had done tonight. Pepper stroked her daughter's hair and smiled softly at the sleeping figure. She couldn't bring herself to wake her or to move her. Pepper stood for a moment though, just to grab some blankets. She had just closed the closet door when a flash caught her eye.

It wasn't lightning. She knew what lightning looked like. She crossed the room slowly, peering through the rain-streaked windows. She hummed softly and shook her head.

"Just my imagination." She said softly, going to turn away. She was stopped short by another flash, though this time it stayed. Pepper watched for a moment. She couldn't see much, but what she did see startled her.

Something akin to a portal opened in the sky and Pepper gasped loudly, covering her mouth after the sound slipped out. A loud boom shook the house and Pepper could hear Morgan waking, asking what was going on.

"Stay there Morgan." Pepper ushered out, her arm thrown behind her and her hand splayed out, hoping the child would listen to her. The portal opened above the ground and Pepper squinted as something fell from it. It landed heavily on the ground, and Pepper watched as the thing tried to push up. It didn't succeed as it fell back down. "Stay there." Pepper repeats, this time going to the door and opening it up.

She had been so caught up in watching the events take place that she hadn't noticed the rain had stopped. She stepped carefully out of the home, onto the porch and down the stairs. She gripped the baseball bat that had been lying on the ground tightly. Her bare feet propelled her forward. She paid no mind to the mud that started to gather on the soles of her feet.

The closer she got, the more she saw. The thing that fell looked like a person. They were mumbling to themselves and twitching slightly on the ground. Upon further inspection, Pepper noticed it was a man. She poked him lightly with the bat, but the man did nothing but groan. Pepper swallowed harshly and used the bat to turn the man over.

The bat fell to the ground with a wet plop. Pepper covered her face with her hands and tears filled her eyes as she took in the man on the ground.

"Tony?"


	2. Chapter 2

HAD A LITTLE MISHAP WITH THE LAST CHAPTER. FORGIVE ME.

Pepper fiddled with her wedding ring as she sat next to the bed that held this Tony. Her eyes tracked the movements of his chest as he breathed. The up and down motion was somewhat comforting and it had been so long since she had seen that rhythm. Her eyes traced a line to the glowing light in his chest, then to his face.

He looked tired and worn out. The bags under his eyes carried the life he must be living. To have darkness that big under his eyes, a lot of sleepless nights must have been the cause.

She's seen that look before. Her Tony used to carry the same weight under his eyes. Late nights working hard to prepare for the future. She's seen them when he would try to stay away from the ghosts of the past. Shadows that quickly faded once Morgan was born.

Pepper smiled at the thought of her daughter. Morgan had brought a beacon of light and hope to their family. Tony's eyes shone brightly when she was near him.

Pepper's eyes drop to her ring. The band glinted in the soft light that flickered in the room. Her thoughts swiftly glide to their wedding and she can't help the few tears that manage to slip from her eyes. A memory of a smile that reaches Tony's lips and lights up his teary eyes as he watches Pepper walk down the aisle. Pepper huffs out a soft laugh at the memory.

"Mommy?" Pepper's head whips up and catches her daughters sleepy stare. Pepper stops her fiddling and stands. Morgan peers through the doorway and Pepper prays that she can't really see who's on the bed.

Her prays aren't answered as Morgan's eyes light up. The girl rushes to the bed and is nearly on it before Pepper stops her. She grabs her child around the waist and lifts her into the arm and into her arms.

"That's daddy!" Pepper shushes her softly. Morgan looks at her mother with wide eyes and a big smile. "Daddy came back." She whispers, gripping onto her mother's neck and hugging her tightly. "He's back." She whispers again.

Pepper holds back her tears, not wanting to startle her daughter. Pepper swallows harshly and pats her daughters back. She'll wait till morning to tell her. Pepper screws her eyes shut and breathes deeply.

She hasn't seen Morgan like this in a while. She doesn't want to crush that hope and happiness in her eyes, but-

That's not their Tony.


	3. Chapter 3

The light that streamed in through the blinds pierced his closed eyes. It was bright enough to wake him up. He blinked a little and groaned at the light, then turned his head after squinting at the offending sun. After he did so, his eyes finally connected to his brain. His breathing sped up as he took in his surroundings.

This wasn't his room. His room was...different. This was someone else's. Did someone find him? Tony pressed his eyes closed and thought back to what happened.

"The portal." He whispered, sitting up quickly and moaning at the feeling of his head protesting wildly to the motion. He sucked in deep breathes and tried to push the pain back.

"Morning." Tony whipped his eyes open and his breathing stuttered as he caught sight of the origin of the voice. He watched as she took a startled step back.

"Pepper?" He couldn't help the awe that slipped in his voice. Pepper was here. She was standing right there. Maybe-

"There's a Pepper were you're from too?" She asks, killing the hope that bubbled inside Tony's chest. He swallows and nods lightly.

"I'm assuming there's a Tony here as well?" He asks, watching her stiffen and fiddle with her ring.

"Not anymore." Tony flinches at the pure pain in the words.

"I'm sorry." He apologizes softly, eyes dropping to the covers his legs still sit under.

"Blue eyes huh?" Tony scrunches his forehead and lifts his eyes.

"What?" Pepper blinks and smiles a little.

"You've got blue eyes. Our Tony had brown." Tony nods at the odd piece of information she gives him. "Why are you here?" Tony sighs, trying to stop the light chuckle that bleeds into the room. "What's so funny?"

"You're just like my Pepper. Always right down to business." He tells her, smiling softly at a memory. This Pepper doesn't react, and he doesn't expect her to. He clears his throat and shifts on the bed, crossing his legs and piling his hands in his lap. He fiddles with his ring so he doesn't tap them against the reactor. "The answer is simple. I don't really know. I opened a portal but I didn't know what it would do. I didn't know where it would put me." Pepper blinks at him.

"You made a portal?" Tony nods. "I guess that's not the craziest thing you've done." Tony furrows his brow. "My Tony figured out time travel." Tony's eyes widen and he scrambles onto his knees.

"Time travel." He breathes out, hands gesturing wildly. "How? When? What did he do with it? Is there still a machine around? What about-" He stops abruptly at the sadness in Pepper's eyes. "I-I'm sorry." He whispers out, lowering himself down and fisting his hands in the sheets. "I didn't mean to overstep." Pepper sniffles.

"It's fine." Tony can imagine her wiping tears from her eyes and he gives her a moment before looking up again. "So. A portal?" Tony nods and opens his mouth to give her more information before a voice cuts in.

"Momma!" Tony's eyes shoot to the doorway and he pushes back the tears that threaten to flow.

"Morgan?" He whispers. Pepper rushes to stop the girl from bursting into the room, but she's too fast. Morgan stops and stares and Tony can't help the shaky breath that leaves his body. "Morgan." The girl gets a huge smile on her face and rushes to him. She pays no mind to how he might be feeling. Pays no mind to the reactor shining in his chest. She just barrels right into him and wraps him in a tight hug. Tony's hands flail around her, not wanting to touch her because this isn't his kid.

"You're back." Tears pour from Tony's eyes and he can't stop them. Through the tears, he can see Pepper press a hand to her mouth. Tony wraps his arms around Morgan and presses his face into her hair. His shoulders shake as he holds her and he can't stop the sobs that rip through his throat and out his mouth.

He doesn't want to let go.

He doesn't want to lose her again.


	4. Chapter 4

Pepper ended up having to carefully pry her daughter away from the man, and it wasn't easy. It broke Pepper's heart to see her daughter so overjoyed at the sight of someone who looked like her father but was most definitely not her father.

She had watched as Tony's hands had twitched in the air after Morgan was taken from his grasp. His eyes were red and tears were being held back. Pepper had quietly told Morgan that it was time for her to get ready for school and that her uncle was on the way. Pepper hadn't missed the way Tony tensed at the idea of an uncle and filed that tidbit away for a later time.

Morgan had marched herself out of the bedroom with her head hung low and Pepper stood in the doorway watching her leave. She wiped her own stray tears from her face and eyes and turned back to the man on the bed.

"I'll make us some breakfast after she leaves for school." She informs him, turning away once again and leaving the room. She followed the often walked trail to her daughter's bedroom to find her staring at her school bag.

"What's wrong?" Pepper asks quietly from the doorway. Morgan wipes her eyes and stares up at her mother with a trembling lip.

"Will daddy still be here when I come home?" The tremor in her voice is enough to make Pepper's heartbreak. She couldn't tell her daughter that the man in the bedroom wasn't her Father. She knew she had too, but she couldn't send her to school heartbroken. So, Pepper smiles at her, kneels on the ground and beckons her close. Morgan leans her head on Pepper's shoulder and sniffles loudly in her ear.

"He'll be here when you come home. I promise." She whispers, rocking her child back and forth. The loud banging of a door breaks them out of their hug, but Pepper doesn't get up. She knows who it is. Sure enough, James Rhodes walks through the door with a smile that slowly grows tense. Pepper knows he realizes something's off, but she waves him off with promises to explain later.

Rhodey nods and takes Morgan's hand, but not before Pepper pulls her close and makes sure she knows not to tell anyone about Tony being back. Not even uncle Rhodey. Morgan nods, promising her mother with a wide smile.

Pepper walks them to the door and waves to them as they drive off. She sighs and leans heavily against the doorway. It's only been a few minutes, but she's exhausted. Her emotions are running wild and thoughts swirl through her head.

"Can we talk?" Pepper whirls around at the sound of her husband's voice. Her mind momentarily forgetting the events that had passed. Pepper blinks at the man that stands on the top step of the stairs. Pepper brushes her hair out of her face and nods.

"Breakfast first, I think." Tony sends her a brittle smile and walks down the stairs.

"Can I help with anything?" Pepper sends him a look that would normally have her Tony backing off, but this one stands his ground. In fact, he chuckles at the sight. "Let me guess. He couldn't cook?" Pepper groans and rolls her eyes, making her way into the kitchen.

"You have no idea." Fond memories of him spending three hours making her food on a plane spread through her mind. A wistful laugh escapes the man behind her as he follows her to the kitchen.

"My Pepper couldn't make anything."

"Oh?" Tony nods as he comes to stand next to her, going through cabinets to see what he can find and Pepper thinks she should stop him, but she doesn't.

"She's burned more things than I care to think about. Almost burned our house down." A sad smile crosses his face.

"What happened to them?" Pepper questions him. Tony flinches and almost drops a glass measuring cup. He clears his throat and rubs his shaking hands together.

"Probably not a good topic for breakfast." He informs her gently. "Maybe later, before Morgan gets home." It's not a promise, but Pepper thinks it's as good as one. "You should sit. I've got this."

Pepper believes him and watches as he puts together a batter for pancakes. He watches him work and it's almost hypnotic. This is obviously something he's done often and something he loves to do.

Pepper finds herself missing her Tony a lot right now.

Before she knows it though, the food is done and a plate is pushed across to her. It's stacked with a few pancakes topped with bananas and whipped cream. Pepper huffs out a small laugh and digs in. At the first bite, she outright moans. She slaps a hand over her mouth and looks wide-eyed at the blushing man in front of her. He smiles sheepishly at her and nods.

"Yeah, that's usually the response those get." He tells her through his light laughter. Pepper is left speechless as she tries to form a thought. "I'll give you the recipe." He promises, dishing up his own pancakes and sitting far from her. Pepper swallows her mouthful and nods to him.

"Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Yo! All your comments are sick! Thanks for reading you guys are the best! So long as you don't comment on my chapter lengths, we'll be just fine.

"Listen," Tony starts, eyes trained on his hands resting lightly in his lap. "I shouldn't stay here." He says quietly. Pepper eyes him and nods.

"That's probably for the best." She agrees, not missing the harsh swallow the man in front of her takes. He clears his throat and looks up at her. "Where will you go?" She asks, tilting her head and eyeing him sharply. This isn't her Tony, but she still wants to make sure he'll be alright, no matter where he ends up.

"I um- I hadn't thought of that." He admits, laughing lightly as he twists up his hands. He glances down sheepishly at them and plucks at the skin. "I'm sure I'll think of something." He whispers. "I just know that it can't be good for you and, honestly, mostly Morgan. This is a huge wrench that's been thrown into your lives and you shouldn't have to deal with it." He tells her softly, trying not to let the pain that blooms at the thought cloud his mind. This is his choice. It's for the best.

"It's for the best." Pepper states, nodding along with what he's saying. "I'm sure we can think of something." Tony nods and continues plucking at his fingers. Pepper creases her brow at the motion. "Why do you do that?" Tony's hands still and he moves them under his lap.

"Nervous habit." He admits, biting his lip softly.

"He used to tap his reactor," Pepper tells him. "You don't do that?" Tony shakes his head, though the movement is jerky.

"It was a nervous tick that I was forced out of." There was more to that story. There was more to Tony's life, but Pepper wasn't going to pry. As much as she wanted to know what happened to his family and what had happened to him, she wasn't going to ask.

The silence that follows the statement is heavy and awkward, but neither of them can think of what to say to fill the space. Tony taps on the table whilst his eyes remain glued to his lap.

"We should probably get breakfast cleaned up," Pepper says, breaking the silence and garnering a jerky nod from Tony. The two slowly get up and work around each other. Tony washes the dishes as Pepper dries and puts them away. Pepper steps away for a few minutes to finish getting ready for the day and when she returns to the family room, Tony is there looking at the pictures on the walls and mantle.

"You're all so happy." He whispers. "I'm sorry that he's gone." Tony runs his fingers lightly over the photo's of Morgan and Pepper together. "What happened to him?"

"I'll tell if you do." Tony huffs out a laugh and shakes his head.

"Then nevermind." Pepper frowns and crosses over to him.

"Are they dead?" Tony nods, then closes his eyes.

"I um, I can't really talk about it right now." He admits, swallowing thickly. "Maybe sometime soon. Just not right now." He shifts his weight and sniffles. "This morning brought back a lot of memories and I just-" He cuts himself off with a stifled cry.

"I understand." Pepper places a hand on his shoulder and he grasps it tightly, smiling gently at her with watery eyes.

"I assume the Avengers are still a thing here then?" Pepper takes a surprised breath at the sudden change of subject.

"Um, yeah. Yes, they are." She stutters out.

"Good. Will you tell me about them?"


	6. Chapter 6

Tony's forehead had a crease in it that Pepper was worried would become permanent if he kept up with the confused expression.

"So, they weren't really friends with uh, other me." He states, glancing at his lap and thinking through what Pepper had told him. He was surprised to hear about how the team acted from an outsider's perspective.

"Not really." She replies with a huff. "Tony did everything for them and never asked for anything in return." She scoffs at the idea. "It's not like they would have done anything for him anyway." She mumbled with a slight a growl.

"Where's everyone now?" He asks, waiting to hear that portion of the story. Pepper swallows and nods.

"I knew you'd want to hear about that." She sighs and pulls her legs to her chest, mirroring Tony as he sits across from her. "There was a fight. A bad one." She swallows as she thinks of it. "It had to do with these things called Infinity Stones." Tony's eyes widen and he takes a sharp breath in.

"You have those too?" Pepper nods. "I can only imagine what happened." It's Tony's turn to take a shaky breath. "We had those too. They're safe and no one can get them, but I dread to think of what could have happened with all of them together."

"So you didn't have a fight with a giant, ugly grape." Tony's face twists into confusion and he shakes his head slowly.

"Not that I can recall."

"We did. His name was Thanos. He had collected all the stones the first time around and um, dusted half the population. Then he fucked off somewhere." Pepper clears her throat. "Long story short, time travel was involved to get the stones back and a battle happened. I um, well, we lost our Tony that day." She says softly. "He used the stones to destroy Thanos and his army, but Tony was only human."

"It killed him."

"Yeah. Well, after that occurred, Steve Rogers-"

"Cap?" Tony breathes out. "He's alive?"

"He took the stones back to where they came from but in doing so, he stayed in the 40's and lived out his life. He's still alive, but he doesn't do the superhero thing anymore. He passed on the mantle to Sam Wilson." There's no sign of recognition in Tony's eyes at the name. "We've still got Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Wanda Maximoff," Pepper doesn't miss the flinch Tony's body emits at the name of the witch. "Bucky Barnes and Scott Lang." Pepper lists off the names and hopes she hasn't missed anyone. "Thor went off with the Guardians of the Galaxy along with Nebula." She watches as his face falls, though recognition still doesn't show through at some of the names.

"What about Nat?" He whispers. Pepper bites her lip and looks at him with sorrow in her eyes. Tony's breathing picks up and he shakes his head. "No. There's no way. Please you can't tell me she's-"

"I'm sorry." Tony lets out a sob that wracks his whole body.

"She can't be. No." Pepper leans forward and carefully wraps the shaking man in her arms. "Nat's-" He cuts himself off with another sob. "But she's Natasha." He weeps out. "She's always there. She's never left me." His body shudders again. "She promised." Pepper's breathing hitches and she can't help but cry at the broken words that pour from his mouth.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

They sit there in each other's arms for what feels like forever. Tony sniffles and leans back. Pepper's heart breaks just a little more at the sight of him. His eyes are red and tears are being kept at bay. He runs a hand over his head and lets out a shaky breath. He swallows thickly and sniffs one last time before meeting her eyes.

"I guess I should tell you about my team. Return the favor and all that."

"You don't have to." She tells him softly, squeezing his hand lightly and he smiles at the motion.

"It's fine. I feel like I should tell you something about me and my life." His smile drops though and Pepper feels a shudder run through her body as she gazes into his blue eyes. There's pain and there's sadness there unlike anything she had ever seen from her Tony.

It scared her.

"It's not a pretty story. And it's really not for the faint of heart."


	7. Chapter 7

"Where to begin?" Tony whispers, hands clasped tightly in his lap as he tries to keep the tremors at bay. He clears his throat and nods his head. "A long time ago, I died." He starts, tapping his reactor as he does so. "This beauty was installed to keep me alive." Pepper nods, informing him that her Tony was the same. Tony smiles and lets out a small laugh. "It really changed me, as I'm sure it did for your husband. I made a suit, got out butI couldn't operate the suit that I built when I escaped. My heart was too weak and it couldn't take the strain." Tony sighs and his body slumps a little.

"So, there's no Iron Man for you?" Tony shakes his head.

"We've got an Iron Man." He pauses and swallows convulsively. "Or I guess we had one. That's a ways away though, so I'll come back to that." He shifts on his spot on the couch and pulls his knees to his chest. His arms wrap around them. "After I escaped, I died again."

"You say die instead of almost dying." Tony nods and smiles at her.

"Because I have. I died. Not once was there an almost. Someone must have been looking out for me because I'm still here for some reason." The last bit is spit out harshly and Pepper feels her heartstrings tug a little. "Something happened with my reactor. It just sort of stopped working."

"I thought that wasn't possible."

"So did I. It happened though and I made a new one with some help. Fast forward a few years and the Avengers come together. It's led by Captain America and Iron Man. Steve Rogers and James Rhodes." Tony clears his throat at the name of his best friend and his eyes water. "Then there was Thor, Janet van Dyne, Bruce Banner, Carol Danvers, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. They were amazing. The best you'd ever seen. I wasn't officially on the team but they still came to me for help. In their eyes, I was a member of the team. Fast forward again and Extremis happens."

Pepper's breathing hitches and Tony eyes her warily.

"Not a good memory?" He questions, eyes filled with concern. She shakes her head.

"Not really."

"Someone must have been using it wrong then. You see, I used it and fixed my heart as much as I could. After it was fixed as well as it could be, we took the virus out before we could use it any other way." Pepper quirks an eyebrow and Tony waves it away. "I'll get there. Skip some years again and we come to the present." Tony sighs and stares her down. She can feel the icy blue eyes pierce her soul, and she's not sure if she's prepared for what she's going to hear. "This is where everything goes sour real fast."


	8. Chapter 8

"He called himself Adam. He's an alien, one we thought would be friendly. We were wrong. He came to earth looking for something. Something only I had. He didn't know that, and not many people at the time did either. The only people that knew what he needed was Me, Pep, Rhodey, and Natasha."

"They killed the President the second week in. The rest of the world leaders followed soon after. Every time it happened we were left a message. We didn't know what it said. We could never figure it out. Then Adam translated. He was looking for Extremis. Rather, he was looking for something similar to it, but Extremis was the closest thing to it. He wanted to use it to make the most powerful army in the universe."

"No one knew what he was talking about. People started disappearing off the streets and then they would be found dead days after. People went into hiding because what else could you do? Scientists were taken in and killed when they didn't cooperate. Then they found out about us."

"They took Rhodey in the night and he lasted a few days. We found his body on our doorstep. After that, I fessed up. I was the only one that could end the suffering, but it wasn't that simple. What they wanted from me was a weaponized version of a virus that was meant to heal. I couldn't do that." Tony takes in a shaky breath and lets it out, tears flood his eyes and roll down his cheeks. "Not only did I not want to, but I couldn't figure it out. That's not my area."

"It's Dr. Banner's," Pepper says, starting to understand where this is going.

"Dr. Banner was brought in to help me. We took as long as we could. We couldn't give them what they wanted. But Adam caught on. So he threatened us. First with torture." Tony laughs and shakes his head. "We're stronger than we look though. After months of torture and seeing that it did nothing but make it harder for us to work, he moved on. Threats of killing others were made.

"We didn't believe him at first, but then they brought someone in and shot them right in front of us. Her name was Christine. She wanted to be a journalist. Adam told us about the lives of everyone he killed. Time wore on and we were getting nowhere. Then Adam shot Bruce right in front of me. That wasn't the worst of it though. Now I had to do this myself, all while worrying about my friends and family and hoping that nothing would happen to them."

"I was right to worry when they dropped off Cap's severed head." Pepper's hand flies to her mouth while her other grips his knee. "Three of my friends are dead because of me. It couldn't get any worse, right? Wrong. A year and a half has passed and I've got more blood on my hands than ever before. By this time, I know the Avengers are safe because none of their heads were dropped off. My family? Not so much."

"I was in the middle of perfecting one of the sequences when the door had opened."

_Flashback_

_Tony dropped the vial he had been peering at when the door opened with a loud bang. He watched as the glass broke into a million tiny pieces._

"_Mr. Stark." Tony's head lifts and his heart stops._

"_What are you doing with them?" Tony eyes his wife and daughter. He had thought they were safe. That they were far away. "Let them go. They have nothing to do with this, please." He begs, falling onto his knees. "I'm working as hard as I can but you killed the only other person that could help me. I can't do this myself!" _

_The shot that goes off quiets his yelling. Sobs tear through his and his wife's throat as they watch their daughter's body fall to the floor._

"_Please! I'm working as hard as I can! You didn't need to do that!" He yells as he can barely hear Pepper's calming words. Whispers telling him that she loves him and that it's not his fault. 'We love you.' She says. 'We'll see you again.' _

_A bang goes off again and Tony screams in agony as the light dies in his wife's eyes. Her body dropping to the floor next to their daughter._

"_Work harder." The door shuts, leaving Tony with his family. He crawls to them with blurred vision as he holds them close._

"_I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He whispers over and over again as he kisses their head. "I love you."_

"I lost a lot that day," Tony whispers as he tells Pepper the story. Pepper cries out and throws herself at him. She wraps her arms around him and rocks him gently. "Seeing you two here and alive was a shock to my system." He sniffs loudly and the tears fall freely. "I know I'm not your Tony and I know you don't want me here, but before I find somewhere else to go, please let me hold her again." The sobs that fill the house are ugly and painful.

"I will. It's fine." Pepper whispers, running a hand through his hair softly.

It feels like hours before the tear fest is kind of over. Tony finishes his tale.

"Weeks after that, I was so close to finishing. Then, the strangest thing happened. A portal opened under my feet right as Adam came into the lab. I don't know who or what did it but the next thing I know, I'm here. If I can figure out how to get back to my world, then great."

"You want to go back?" Pepper asks, eyes starting to dry.

"I have to. I've got to save all those people. If it means selling my soul to the devil then so be it."

"That's why you want the time machine then?" Tony's forehead creases. "You want it to set everything right?" Tony struggles with words.

"If I can't set everything right, then what's the point of me?"

"DADDY!"

"Tony?" Tony freezes.

"Rhodey." Tony passes out.


	9. Chapter 9

Just wanna say thank you for all the lovely reviews. Answers to a question: No, Tony cannot come back from the dead. You change the past you change the future. Yeah, the time travel logic in the movie was different, but that was dumb so I'm changing it. "But if he brings pepper and Morgan back won't that change things too?" Yes. Am I going to explain that? No haha. Again, thank you for the reviews you are all amazing.

"A different universe huh?" Rhodey asks, watching this new Tony sip some tea gently from a mug. He noticed the man's hands trembled and hated that he was part of the cause. Rhodey goes through the information that Pepper had given him while Tony was still unconscious. "I'm dead." He states, keeping his eyes trained on Tony's form.

"Yeah." He whispers, eyes trained on the mug in his hands. The silence that stills over the room is haunting and Rhodey hates it. He'd say he couldn't imagine what it was like, but now he could.

"And the Avengers are all friends." Tony nods, setting his mug down and curling in towards himself. "I'm sorry about what happened to you." Tony shakes his head and lifts his eyes to meet Rhodey's.

"Don't be. It's my fault anyway." Tony slumps and Rhodey wants nothing more than to give the man a hug, to tell him that it's really not his fault. Tony clears his throat, sitting up once more and casting a smile at Rhodey. "It's nice to you though. Even if you're not really my Rhodey."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I can't stay here. It doesn't feel right." Tony admits, shrugging his shoulders. "This isn't home and this isn't my family." His throat catches on the word family and Rhodey can't take it anymore. He rushes to his friend because that's what he is. In this universe and in any universe. He wraps the man in a hug and lets him cry. He holds him through the harsh shaking the sobs emit. Then they die down and Rhodey still doesn't let him go.

"So, no Iron Man?" Tony chuckles.

"Of course you would ask that. Not really. Extremis healed my heart so now I can fly the suit but, there wasn't much time for me to do that. You were always the man in the sky. The one people looked for. Then you died and I couldn't really fly anyway. That suit was yours and I didn't have the time to build one for me."

"Tony?" Tony's head reels around and catches Pepper watching him. "Morgan wants to know if you'll sit by her for dinner." Tony swallows and catches a glimpse of Morgan in the background. He smiles at her and nods.

"I would be delighted." The truthful answer tugs on Rhodey's heart. They watch and listen as Morgan races back up the stairs to work on her homework with Pepper following closely behind.

"You can come live with me." Tony's head turns so quickly that Rhodey worries it'll snap off.

"You'd be alright with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Tony fumbles over an answer and Rhodey quiets his stuttering. "You're my friend no matter what. You may a different Tony than the one I grew up with, but you're still my best friend." Tony quickly wipes away the tears that filled his eyes.

"Thank you." Rhodey smiles at him, then stands. He walks over to Tony and claps his hands hard on Tony's shoulders, earning a surprised sound from the man.

"But first, I heard you were an excellent cook." Tony laughs and allows himself to be pulled up from his spot on the couch and dragged into the kitchen.

This was nice. He missed this.


	10. Chapter 10

Morgan was steadily watching Tony the entire time they ate dinner. At times, Tony would look over at her and smile and she would smile back even wider, then try to get the lasagna into her mouth without taking her eyes off of him. When she missed Tony would chuckle and wipe the mess off her face.

"You should probably pay attention to your food," Tony whispered, leaning in close as he finished wiping the sauce off. "I'm not going anywhere." His heart ached at the sentence because, in reality, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay here. Pepper wasn't comfortable with it, and Tony just wanted what was best for her.

Tony lifted his head, a smile still on his face as his eyes trailed over to where Pepper and Rhodey sat. Pepper had a soft smile on her face and that lifted Tony's spirits a little. His eyes moved to Rhodey and he was watching with an equally bright smile.

"I was thinking," Rhodey begins, fingers tapping on the table next to his empty plate. "We should go out tonight. Catch up and all that." Rhodey sends Tony a knowing look and Tony's smile falls a little.

"Why not?"

"But-" Morgan cuts in to object and Pepper stops her.

"They haven't seen each other in a while honey," Pepper tells her daughter softly, watching as her face falls. "You'll see him again tomorrow. Don't worry."

"Promise?" Morgan mumbles the question, pushing her food around with her fork and slumping in her chair. Tony swallows and looks at Pepper. The two lock eyes and Pepper nods.

"Promise." Tony clears his throat and checks the time.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" He asks the little girl. It really had gotten late. Dinner had been a late start as Morgan kept distracting Tony from his food preparations. Morgan lets a smile slip onto her face. "Why don't you head up to bed?" He asks, giving her a small smile. Pepper stands and takes Morgan upstairs. Once they cleared the room, Tony sighs and places his head on the table.

"You okay?" Rhodey asks concern lacing his voice. Tony's body shudders and he lifts his head.

"At some point, I'm going to have to tell her I'm not really her father." Tony lets out a shaky breath and clasps his trembling hands in his lap. "I don't think my heart will be able to take that." He whispers, eyes closing as memories swarm through his mind. He feels a strong hand on his shoulder and he opens his eyes to see Rhodey crouching down in front of him.

"It's gonna suck, but we'll be there with you when you have to. Pepper will help Morgan get through it and I'll help you." Tony smiles at him and nods his thanks. He clears his throat and shifts in his seat.

"We should probably get this cleaned up before we leave." Rhodey nods and stands. It's not the first time Tony's eyes stray to the braces on his legs. He wants to ask why he has them. He wants to know what happened, but it's not his business.

So, he stands and helps his friend wash and dry the dishes, then place the leftover lasagna in a Tupperware for Morgan and Pepper.

"She'll still love you," Rhodey says to him a few minutes later after they've said goodbye to Pepper. The walk to Rhodey's car is cold and Tony shivers. "No matter what happens." Tony can't tell if he's talking about Morgan or Pepper.

"I hope you're right." Rhodey claps Tony on the back and the shorter man stumbles, letting out a rush of air as he does so.

"I've been meaning to ask you something." Rhodey states as they enter the car. Tony quirks an eyebrow at him as he buckles his seatbelt. Rhodey turns the car on and puts it in gear. "If Extremis fixed up your heart, why do you still have the reactor?"

"Extremis did what it could but the version we used must be different from the one you have. It fixed the damage as well as it could, but my sternum is a different story. We used a low concentration of it so it couldn't kill me, so in reality, all Extremis did was heal my heart a little. Scars still cover it and it doesn't always cooperate. The reactor is there to keep it going. Just as your Tony's would have. Shrapnel is gone, but that wasn't the only damage done. Until I can find something that can help make me a new sternum, I'm stuck with this beauty." He taps the reactor then lets his hands fall into his lap. "Can I ask you something?" Hesitation is what leaves with the words.

"It's only fair," Rhodey says with a smile.

"What happened to your legs?" Rhodey sighs and turns a corner.

"It's a long story." Tony quirks a smile.

"I've got time."


	11. Chapter 11

Rhodey had finished his tale as they entered his home. Tony took the time to kind of look around and process what he had been told.

"That's…" Tony doesn't really know what to say to that. There are thousands of things he wants to say, but none of them sound right. He wants to know why. He wants to know how everything got so bad. He wants to know why the Steve Rogers of this world was like that. Why he did what he did.

Though, Tony could kind of understand. If it had been Rhodey in Sergeant Barnes' spot, he would probably do the same thing. However, at the same time, Tony would ask for help. He wouldn't defy the wishes of 117 countries. He knows his Steve would have done the same. The James Barnes of his world had gotten help years ago. The triggers were gone and he wasn't a threat to anyone.

"Tony?" Tony blinked out of his thoughts. Rhodey was looking at him with concern in his eyes. "You alright? You got this kind of far away look in your eyes." Tony nods and smiles at him.

"Just thinking it through," Tony told Rhodey all of his thoughts on the situation. "In the case of my parents, well, anyone would react that way. The thing is though, if someone's distressed like that and they lash out, you shouldn't attack them back." Tony whispers, letting Rhodey guide him to the couch. He sits gently and listens to the soft whir of Rhodey's braces as he sits as well. "Don't they know that?" Rhodey chuckles and Tony quirks an eyebrow at him.

"When it came to Barnes, Rogers only had him as a priority. Our Tony had attacked Barnes. It didn't matter if he was in distress. What mattered to him was Barnes." Tony swallows and nods, thinking again about the matter.

"In Steve's mind, that makes sense." Tony shifts and looks around the room. His eyes catching on photos, but not really wanting to dwell on them. "Pepper told me a little about what happened to everyone else after um, Thanos." His eyes lock onto Rhodey's. "I know you're Tony died, but what happened to everyone else?" Rhodey sighs and shifts on his spot on the couch.

"Natasha-"

"Is dead. Yeah." Rhodey squeezes Tony's shoulder and shoots him a soft smile.

"Um, Bruce Banner is a weird circumstance. He merged himself with the Hulk? Does that make sense?" Tony quirks an eyebrow and Rhodey delves deeper into an explanation that Tony laughs at.

"He would do that." Rhodey smiles a little wider at him.

"Clint Barton is back with his family. Thor is somewhere."

"Pepper said he was with someone group called the Guardians of the Galaxy." Rhodey shrugs.

"That makes sense. Carol Danvers, uh Captain Marvel is out in space somewhere."

"Captain Marvel? Wait, Carol Danvers! We had her on my world! She kind of...glowed." Rhodey lets out a loud laugh and nods.

"That she does."

"You two were going to get married," Tony whispers. A thick silence follows that statement. "Um, sorry. Please continue." Rhodey does, but only after making sure Tony is alright.

"Wanda Maximoff is off somewhere too."

"You have no idea where she is?" Tony asks in a rush of breath. "But she's-" His breathing picks up and shortens.

"Tony?" Rhodey grasps Tony's face in his hands and instructs him to follow his breathing. When Tony's breathing slows, he collapses in on himself and Rhodey holds him tightly. "It's ok." He rocks the man softly. "I'd ask what happened but I don't what you to panic again." Tony wraps shaking hands around his friend and swallows thickly.

"Maybe another time," Tony whispers, not really wanting to come out of the protective hold his friend has on him. Rhodey continues rocking him until the shaking stops. When it finally does, Tony is reluctant to leave the hold, but he does so. He sits up and his eyes are red-rimmed and Rhodey's heart breaks at the sight. "You can continue."

"Stephen Strange is still protecting our reality." Tony snorts at the sentence.

"I've met him. Had a thing with him a long time ago. Haven't seen him in a while though."

"Other than that, Peter Parker is still Spiderman." Tony blinks at him and there's no recognition in his eyes.

"Am I supposed to know who that is. Wait, Spiderman? What kind of a name-"

"You don't have a Spiderman in your universe." Tony shakes his head.

"We had a Peter Parker, but he died years ago. A plane crash. He was an intern. I worked with him a few times, but never really got to know him." Rhodey's silence strikes something in Tony. "Let me guess, that's not how it is here."

"Peter was almost like a son to you. You taught him quite a few things. He really looked up to you." Rhodey blinks. "Or him. Our Tony. You know what I mean." A corner of Tony's mouth flicks into a smile before disappearing.

"Everything's so different here." Tony's mouth breaks into a yawn. He blinks in surprise before red colors his cheeks. "Sorry. I guess I'm more tired than I thought." Rhodey pats him on the shoulder, then squeezes it.

"It's been a long day. Why don't we turn in for the night?" Tony nods and leans his head against the back of the couch. His eyes closing against his will.

"Sounds like a plan." Rhodey snorts and shakes his head.

"From a different universe, but he can still fall asleep anywhere. Some things never change I guess."


	12. Chapter 12

Tony screams himself awake. It startles Rhodey out of his musings from the kitchen and he rushes to his friend. Tony's eyes are squeezed shut as he tries to calm his breathing. Rhodey places gentle hands on his shoulders and speaks softly to him until he calms. Tony swallows roughly and opens his blue eyes.

"Sorry." He whispers with a hoarse voice. Rhodey shakes his head and pulls his friend into a hug.

"Don't apologize for something like that. It's not your fault." Rhodey reassures the man as he shudders lightly. "You slept the whole night through. I guess for you that's an achievement." Rhodey informs him with a smile. Tony huffs out a laugh and sits up.

"Yeah, I guess so." He smiles at him and fiddles with his fingers. Rhodey claps him on the back and stands.

"I made breakfast." He states, watching Tony's face contort into worry. "What?"

"Uh, well it's just that my Rhodey couldn't ever really cook." Tony stumbles over the words but gets up and follows Rhodey to the kitchen. Rhodey lets a loud laugh rip from his throat as he guides his friend to sit.

"That's hilarious because my Tony-"

"Was terrible at cooking?" Tony cuts him off with a smile. "I know. Pepper told me." Tony shifts in his seat as Rhodey places an omelet in front of him.

"When do you want to go back to Pepper?" Tony freezes during a bite and flicks his eyes to Rhodey. He chews his bite and swallows it.

"I don't know if I should." He whispers, placing his fork on the plate and slouching in the seat. "I don't want Morgan to get too attached to me. I'm not her dad." Tony's voice cracks. "It hurts to think about. I've missed them and seeing them here just sort of stitched a part of me back together but I know that stitch will rip and I don't want that to happen. I can't stay here. Pepper and I both know that." Tony flicks teary blue eyes to Rhodey and his friend sighs.

"I think you and Pepper should try to get to know each other again. I know you don't want to go back to your dimension. Your universe, whatever it is. It's a messed up place and I can't let you go back. Think about it. A part of you was stitched up again. The same goes for us. I know you and Pepper don't think it would be right for you to stay. But I think that's what you both need."

"But-" Rhodey cuts him off.

"No. None of that. Whatever you were gonna say needs to stay in your head. It's your choice. But I really think this would be good for you three." Tony blinks and nods.

"I'd ask Pepper about it. I'm intruding in her life. I don't want to do that. If she's not comfortable with it then I'll figure something out."

"You'll stay with me." Tony shakes his head.

"I don't want to intrude."

"You wouldn't be." Rhodey taps his fingers on the table then goes to sit next to his downtrodden friend. "You'd be filling a hole. When Tony died, nothing was the same. It's obvious our lives are missing something. Not just an Iron Man something, but a Tony something. Life is so dull without him. He left a lot of things behind when he died. Now, I'm not going to force you to do anything, but I wouldn't be able to live with letting you go back to your universe. We'd miss you here and we would be so worried about you."

"Why are you doing this? You don't know me. You just met me." Tony tries to argue.

"Because you're my friend. Yeah, you're from a different universe, but when I look at you, all I see is the little kid I met at MIT. All I see is my friend. I don't see a stranger." The cogs turn in Tony's head. As he thinks it over. The cogs screech to a halt as a knock resounds through the house. Rhodey glances at Tony before looking at the door. "Stay here. I'll see who it is." Tony nods and stays in his seat as he watches his friend make his way to the door.

Tony's heart races in his chest as Rhodey makes his way to the door. He's not sure why he's scared. He knows it's no one from his universe. It can't be. He came here by way of some freak accident. They couldn't recreate that.

"Sam?" Tony's ears perk at the sound of Rhodey's voice. "What are you doing here?" He can hear the whir of the braces as his friend shifts his stance.

"Just wanted to check in on you. We haven't heard from you in a while." The new voice breaks through the house. "Is something wrong?" He questions.

"Nope. No problem here." Tony snorts at the lie.

"Then you won't mind if I come in?" The door whooshes open and Tony stiffens. The silence is thick and he doesn't really know what to do about it. "What the hell?" Tony turns and smiles at the newcomer.

"Hi. I'm Tony Stark. Who might you be?"


	13. Chapter 13

BTW I HAVE A TUMBLR IF YOU WANT TO YELL AT ME OR GET ANSWERS FOR QUESTIONS

dropyoursocksgrabyourcrocks

"You wanna explain what's going on?" Tony watches the exchange with wide eyes. "He's supposed to be dead."

"He _is_ dead. I'm not him." Tony interjects. He had finally started to come to terms with the idea that the man he was here is dead. It was starting to become easier to talk about. Explaining it though? That would still take some time to get around. "I'm from a different universe. A different Earth. And you don't exist there. Or if you do, I've never met you."

"Well, I'm Sam Wilson." Tony's eyes light up.

"You're the new Captain America?" He asks, smiling at him. "It's nice to meet you."

"How did you end up here?" Tony's eyes shutter a little and he slumps.

"That's a long story that I'd rather not get into at the moment." Sam nods and looks back at Rhodey.

"So, what's gonna happen with him?"

"He's staying here." Tony opens his mouth to protest but Rhodey continues on. "He's already seen, Pepper and Morgan. And I'm not letting him go back to his universe."

"This sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo that Strange would understand."

"Stephen Strange? Why would he know about that?" Tony asks, eyes flicking from Rhodey to Sam. Sam shifts and shrugs his shoulders.

"He's a wizard? Sorcerer? Whatever he likes to be called. He knows about this stuff." Tony shivers.

"Magic gives me the creeps."

"What if magic was how you got here?" Rhodey asks, a smile playing on his face.

"Doesn't change anything." Rhodey and Sam look back at each other.

"Should we take him to Strange?" Rhodey shakes his head.

"I don't think we should make him any more uncomfortable than he already is. I'm taking him back to Pepper today. I think they should talk a few things over."

"I'm right here you know." Tony says, feeling left out of the conversation.

"Should we tell the team?" The two continue as though they never heard him and Tony rolls his eyes, sinking deeper into the couch he had moved onto when Sam had come into the house. Rhodey shakes his head again and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Not yet. We'll see how things go with Pepper and we'll go from there."

"Are you going to let him go to the city?" Tony quirked an eyebrow as they continued to talk about him.

"Even I can tell you that it would be a bad idea," Tony says, drawing the attention back to him. "I shouldn't go anywhere near the city. Your Tony is dead. If I were to show my face then it would be very confusing and a lot of things could happen."

"That's true."

"Can I ask something? If Tony is dead, does that mean your Iron Man?" Tony asks Rhodey. Rhodey shakes his head and starts explaining.

"You had started training someone in secret to be the new Iron Man. He had shown interest and he was the best pick for the job. He's old enough to fight if he wanted to, but Tony wanted to wait until he was a little older to actually start fighting as Iron Man, so for now, he's just practicing with the suit Tony left him." Tony nods as he takes in the information.

"What's his name?" Rhodey and Sam exchange a look again and Tony sighs. "What do you think I'm going to do with the information? I'm not going to hunt him down. I just told you it would be a bad idea to let me roam around the city." His voice hardens as he speaks. Rhodey sighs and nods, posture relaxing as he looks at his friend.

"His name's Harley Keener."

"Harley? He's way too young to do that!" Tony yells standing with wide eyes. "Why would you allow him to do that? Why would _I_ allow him to do that?"

"You know Harley?" Sam asks, holding out a hand to the agitated man.

"Of course I do. We were going to adopt him before everything happened." Tony whispers, his mind whirring at all the thoughts racing through his mind. "He was going to live with us, so was his sister. Then everything happened and I told them to hide." Tony explains, missing the look that Sam shoots Rhodey, and therefore missing the look Rhodey shoots back.

"Tony, you're working yourself into another panic attack, I need you to calm down." Tony's breath wheezes out from his mouth.

"How am I supposed to calm down? He's a child! He shouldn't be doing that!"

"Wait till you hear about Spiderman." Sam mumbles.

"He doesn't have a Spiderman on his earth and the Peter there died," Rhodey mumbles back, leaving Sam to his thoughts as he goes to calm Tony down again. "I need you to breathe." Tony doesn't respond. He keeps hyperventilating and spots start to dance in his vision. "If you don't calm down, you're going to pass out." Rhodey tries to get Tony to follow his breathing but it doesn't work.

"What did you say about a Spiderman?" Tony's frantic eyes trace over Sam's body. "Don't tell me there's another kid fighting supervillains." Sam remains silent and that does nothing for Tony's mind.

"Tony please." Tony's knees feel weak and he falls to the ground. He grabs his chest and tries to fight the pain that resides there. Something cold is placed on his ear and he can hear someone talking to him.

"-ny? Can you hear me? You need to breathe." He knows that voice. Where does he know that voice? "Just listen to me. You're going to be alright." The calming tones start to work and he can feel himself calming down. "There we go, you're alright." Tony's vision is blurry as tears fell from his eyes. "Listen to me. I'm going to see you soon and we can talk about this." It's Pepper. That's the voice he's hearing. "Right now I need to leave, but we'll talk soon." Her voice soothes him and he nods, knowing that she can't see him. "I'm going to talk to Rhodey now. Just relax." Tony swallows roughly and closes his eyes.

A blanket is placed over his shoulders as he's guided into a more comfortable position. He can hear Rhodey talking to Pepper on the phone and opens his eyes to see Sam sitting next to him.

"Those panic attacks normal for you?" Tony, too tired to respond verbally, just nods. "I'm sorry." His eyes droop as Sam keeps talking to him softly.

Tony's asleep minutes later.


	14. Chapter 14

Tony's hands clench around the mug that Pepper placed in his hands tightly. His eyes stay drawn to the liquid inside, not once daring to look up.

"Have you told her yet?" Tony asks, voice soft.

"No."

"Are you going to?" They can hear Morgan playing loudly with Sam and Rhodey in the other room.

"Should I?" Tony's throat tightens and he shrugs.

"She's your daughter. You should do what you think is best for her." He answers, eyes still watching his mug.

"Shouldn't you have a say?" Tony doesn't answer. Instead, he places his mug on the table in front and draws his knees close to his chest.

"Do you think I should?" This time, Pepper doesn't answer and Tony's heart clenches. H wants to say something. He knows what he wants to say, but is it the right time? His heart says yes but his mind says no.

"You're so much like my Pepper. I know it's not fair to you to say this. I'm not trying to warp your mind or tilt your judgment. But, I think I love you. I'm not your Tony. I could never be him and I don't want to be him but I can see something's missing for you just as it is for me." He pauses and looks at her. "When that portal opened up underneath my feet, I didn't know what was going to happen. I was scared, but I was also hoping that maybe that was the end. That maybe I was going to see them again."

"I didn't know what to expect but it led me here. It led me to you. And I feel like I wouldn't be here unless it was for a reason. And yeah, you're not my Pepper, but you look the same, you act the same, you think the same, and I feel the same." His throat tightens again and he looks Pepper in the eye and his vision blurs as tears swarm. He thinks he can see tears in her eyes as well. "It's you." He says, a wobbly smile on his face. "It's always you. And I'm not going to force my way into your heart if you don't want me there but I'm asking you, please. Let me at least be part of your life. I'm not crazy, Pepper, I just, finally know where I have to be. And I know in my heart that it's right." The house is quiet save for Morgan's yelling in the other room. Pepper shifts closer to Tony and Tony closes his eyes. He draws his forehead to his knees.

He had confessed this huge thing and he didn't know what would happen next. He knew it was too soon to say this, but he had held this in his heart since the morning after he saw her. She's not really his and he's not really hers but there's a connection there that he can't ignore.

The unthinkable happens.

"Tony," Pepper whispers, hand going to his shaking shoulder. She lifts his head from his knees and shares a wobbly smile.

She kisses him. She kisses him because it's Tony. It's Tony no matter what. So, he's from a different dimension, but it's her husband.

She pulls away from the kiss to see a blush high on Tony's cheeks and she bites her lip.

"Weird?" Tony asks, but she shakes her head.

"No, it's not weird."

"It's okay, right?"

"Yeah," The second kiss is nicer.

They both know it could work. They both know they need each other in their lives. They know it'll be hard and maybe it'll take a second to get used to, but they know it'll work.

So they'll start from the beginning. They'll date and see what happens and they know they're both alright with that.

"If you two lovebirds are done," Tony and Pepper break the kiss quickly with heat covering their faces. Tony's shoulders hunch and he lets the false glare cover the blush. Rhodey smiles at them both. Pepper laughs and breaks the small tension in the room. Tony smiles softly and basks in the beautiful sound.

Yeah, this could work.


	15. Chapter 15

"No." Tony crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at Sam from across the room. Pepper was upstairs with Morgan, so it was just the three men on the lower level. "You can't do that." Rhodey stood not too far away, watching the conversation with a careful, closed expression.

"Why not?" Sam asks, arms flailing as he paces the floor back and forth. Tony's blue eyes watch him unwaveringly.

"They can't know I'm here because think of the questions they'll have!" It's not quite a yell, but Tony's voice does raise and Rhodey takes a tentative step forward, though he's still not quite in the conversation.

"And?" Tony sputters at the question.

"What do you mean? I told you what happened there! I can't let them ask questions! They'll want to know how I got there and then they'll want to know if I can get them there! Think about it!" Tony takes a step forward and his eyes are filled with pleading. "If you tell them about my universe, about how some of their dead or aged teammates are there, they'll want to see them. They'll probably want to bring them to your universe. I can't let that happen. If I do that, my home is defenseless. More defenseless than it already is."

Sam paused in his pacing and looks Tony over. From Rhodey's spot, he can see the gears turning in his mind. Rhodey moves his gaze to his best friend who looks as though he's keeping a panic attack at bay.

"I know you want to tell them. I understand the need, but you can't. You have to look at it from my perspective." Tony's voice shakes and he swallows harshly. Rhodey takes another step closer. "The last time something similar happened, nothing went well. The last time I knew about something no one else did, I lost my best friend. I lost my wife and my child." Tony's breathing shudders and he wraps his arms around his stomach. "I know I shouldn't expect that from your team, but I don't know them and based off of what I've heard about them, I don't really want to know them." He tells the new Captain America truthfully and Rhodey can see when the words hit him. Sam nods his head.

"I forgot your relationship with your team is very different than the one this Tony had. I'm sorry. I should have thought about that from the start." Sam takes a step forward and it looks like Tony wants to take a step back, but he holds his ground. "I didn't think. You've had a rough life. You've got PTSD flowing out of you in waves. I should have realized why even mentioning the idea was a terrible thing to do." Tony's body softens from its rigid state and he smiles softly at the man.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I yelled. I shouldn't have done that." Tony's voice is soft and a far cry from the man that was just speaking to Sam. Sam shakes his head and takes one step closer. He's close enough to hug the smaller man, but he doesn't want to overstep.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Rhodey smiles at him and nods. He raises his eyebrows and opens his arms, hugging himself and trying to tell Sam to do the same to Tony. Sam rolls his eyes but does so. The shorter man melts in his hold and shudders. "I won't bring it up again."

"I appreciate that."

"Tony?" Pepper's voice calls from the bottom of the stairs. He removes himself from Sam's hold and peers at her with happiness in his eyes. "Are you alright?" He smiles at her widely and nods.

"Better now that you're here." He says, blushing at the statement and feeling warmth well up in his chest as he sees a blush appear on her face as well. Rhodey clears his throat and it shakes the two out of their thoughts and their faces redden more.

"Sam and I will take Morgan out for ice cream. You two should talk about what you want to do now that you've uh-"

"Kissed?" Pepper asks, a mischievous smile on her face. Rhodey laughs and nods.

"Yeah." Rhodey rushes up the stairs to get Morgan and Pepper glides across the room to Tony. He smiles brightly at her and kisses her cheek. The two remain in awkward silence until Rhodey comes down with Morgan.

The girl runs to her mother and Tony, throwing herself around their legs and smiling up at them. The two smile just as widely back down and Tony picks her up, planting a kiss on her cheek before he realizes what he's doing. He gives Pepper a nervous look, but she doesn't return it. She smiles at him and nods before planting a kiss on the child's other cheek.

"Be good for Rhodey and Sam, alright?" Morgan nods and Tony lets her down. The girl races to Rhodey and grabs his hand, pulling him out the door with Sam closely behind. Her excited words fill the house until the door closes behind the trio, leaving Tony and Pepper alone in the house.


	16. Chapter 16

"I'm surprised you didn't throw me out a window." Sam muses, watching Morgan carefully over his ice cream. Rhodey hums as he licks a stray drop of his vanilla ice cream from his hand. "When I brought up telling the team about Tony," Sam adds, still not taking his eyes off of Morgan as she runs around the playground with the other kids. He watches the parents closely, and even the kids.

"I wanted Tony to handle it." Sam's eyes flick to Rhodey briefly before going back to the kids. "I can't fight all his battles, no matter how bad I want to," Rhodey admits, eyes going to Morgan as well, but going back down to his ice cream quickly. "I wanted to throw you out a window. Trust me. You overstepped." It's Sam's turn of hum as he thinks that through. "Our Tony had a shit relationship with the Avengers and this new Tony found out about it. He's not used to this world. He's vulnerable and I hate to think that you took advantage of that."

"I didn't mean to."

"And yet, you did." Sam doesn't speak after that. He knows Rhodey's right. He shouldn't have pushed Tony. He shouldn't have even brought the idea up.

"How do I make it up to him?" Rhodey turns his head and raises an eyebrow.

"You want to make it up to him?" Disbelief is hard in his voice and Sam doesn't know how to respond to it. Rhodey scoffs and turns his head back. There were things he wanted to say. Things he wishes he could say, but he didn't want to start a fight.

"I know what that sound means and I know you have things to say. You don't want to though, do you?" Rhodey sighs and shakes his head.

"I don't want to start any fights right now." The only noise that passes through the day during the time after the sentence is the sound of the kids playing.

"Rhodes? Wilson?" Rhodey and Sam turn around at the sound of their names being spoken. Stephen Strange stands there watching them with a raised eyebrow.

"Strange? What brings you here?" Sam asks whilst Rhodey turns his attention back to Morgan. Sam would take care of what Strange needed and Rhodey would keep an eye on Morgan.

Strange shrugs his sweater covered shoulders and looks around.

"Out for a stroll."

"Us too. Thought we'd give Pepper a break and watch Morgan for the day." Strange eyes Sam warily and Sam shifts under the scrutiny of the magic man.

"What do you know about other universes?" Rhodey asks suddenly, still not taking his eyes off Morgan. Sam turns and stares at his back in wonder.

"Why do you ask?" A hesitant tone leaks through the question and Rhodey shrugs.

"Came to me in a dream." They all know that's a lie, but no one questions it.

"The Multiverse." Rhodey nods like he's just been given the answer to life. "Is there anything I need to know about?" Rhodey shakes his head, turning once to look back at Strange.

"I'll let you know if anything pops up. I was just curious." Strange looks like he doesn't want to buy it and Sam prays he doesn't ask any more questions.

"Glad to hear." Strange goes to leave. "Have a good day."

"What the hell was that?" Sam asks, rounding on Rhodey.

"He's the only one that would know anything about this stuff. I'll ask Tony if he knows anything about what a Multiverse is. Maybe it could shed some light on what's happening."


	17. Chapter 17

"What do you know about something called the Multiverse?" Sam asks Tony later that day. Sam and Rhodey had brought Morgan home just an hour after they had spoken to Strange. At the moment, Pepper and Morgan were out shopping for Tony, though he had fought them on the idea.

"The Multiverse?" Tony raises an eyebrow and taps his fingers against his reactor. "I've heard of the theory but I didn't think it would actually exist." He admits whilst keeping his eyes trained on Rhodey. "The idea is that there are multiple universes and I guess that was proven not long ago." He smiles at the sentence and rests his hands in his lap. "So, there's been a tear in the Multiverse then. Somehow. That's got to be how I go here." The gears are turning in his head and Rhodey and Sam remain silent as he thinks. "You didn't do anything here that could have caused this event to happen, did you?" Rhodey and Sam exchange looks, and it's Rhodey that answers.

"You mean apart from the time travel and our Tony using the Infinity Gauntlet?" Tony hums and nods.

"So Tony used the stones to destroy Thanos and his army, thus changing reality." He chews on his lip and shrugs. "That's the only thing that I could possibly think of happening that could have started this. The Infinity Stones are powerful and we don't really know what kind of consequences come from using them so many times."

"You think other universes could bleed into this one?" Sam asks, curiosity lacing his voice.

"Your universe is unique. It's ground zero. If anything, there could be more people from different universes bleeding into this one. All this sounds like magic and that is not something I know much about. You'd have to get someone that could potentially see the other worlds to help you out with this." Sam and Rhodey look at each other again. Tony's forehead scrunches. "You've got someone like that?" Realization crosses Tony's face as he thinks back. "Stephen Strange. Your wizard guy." Sam nods.

"We think he could help." Rhodey starts, looking Tony in the eye. "We don't want to make you uncomfortable though." Tony shakes his head.

"I think it would be a good idea. The sooner we can figure this out, the sooner we can maybe put a plug in it."

"We're not sending you back." Tony sighs and rolls his eyes.

"A different universe but you can still read me like a book." Tony smiles at his friend. "How do we find him?" A knock sounds on the door and the three men watch carefully. Rhodey rises and makes sure that Tony stays seated and out of sight of the door. Rhodey makes his way slowly to the door and looks out the window. His body deflates and he laughs a little.

"Speak of the devil." Rhodey opens the door and the form of Stephen Strange enters Tony's line of sight.

Tony flashes him a bright smile, but one isn't returned. Instead, Stephens body is rigid and his eyes dance around the room. Tony frowns and looks at Rhodey. Rhodey shakes his head as if telling him to leave it be.

"Stephen Strange," Tony speaks up, stands and crosses the room to meet the man. He grasps one of Stephens shaking hands and shakes it. "I hear you can help us with our Multiverse problem." Tony smiles softly this time. Stephen relaxes as he scrutinizes Tony.

"You're from a different universe." It's not a question. Tony wasn't expecting a question. He knew he looked only slightly different from the Tony of this universe.

"Earth 3247."

"Are you trying to get back?" Tony opens his mouth to answer, but Rhodey beats him to it.

"We're trying to figure out how he got here and if anyone else could get here too." Stephen watches the two warily before his eyes flicker to Sam.

"Then let's begin." Tony smiles brighter and leads Stephen to the table they had been sitting at before. "Tell me about how you got here." Tony swallows and Rhodey pats his leg lightly.

"I was working and this portal opened up underneath me and the next thing I knew, I woke up here." Tony's answer was short and to the point. He didn't want to give any more details than he had to. Stephen nods his head, hands clasped in front of him as he thinks. "What happened to you?" Tony asks, voice soft and caring. "You saw me and…" He pauses. "Something happened with the Tony here."

"He died." Tony blinks.

"You had a hand in it? That's what I'm guessing. That, or you blame yourself. I can tell you that you shouldn't." Tony's eyes lock with Stephens as he urges him to explain. After a few brief moments of silence, Stephen does explain and Tony just sits and listens. "It's not your fault." He tells the man. "There was no other way and I know Tony accepted his fate. It's not your fault. He would have done whatever he had to. It's who he is." Tony smiles as he speaks, trying to ease Stephens troubled thoughts. "Now, do you have any ideas? We wondered if it had to do with the Infinity Stones." Stephen nods and drops his hands.

"When Tony snapped, it ripped a hole in reality. All the time travel had already messed up our world, but using the Gauntlet again? It ripped a massive hole in our universe. We are the epicenter of everything. You're the first of many that could come here. We don't know how many people could come here, we don't know how many rifts there are, but more will come." Tony swallows thickly as he takes in the information.

"If there was already a rip in my world, could that rip happen again? Could more people come from my world to this one?" Stephen raises an eyebrow and Sam and Rhodey look at him with concern.

"Someone's looking for you." Tony nods at Stephens words. "Someone you don't want to see again."

"My worlds not in the best state right now," Tony admits, a sad smile playing on his lips. Silence envelops the room for a moment.

"I don't know if more people could come from your world." Tony nods, accepting the information. "I'm sorry I don't have more information." Tony shakes his head.

"It's fine." He smiles at him. "Thank you for telling us what you know." Stephen flashes him a brief smile and rises, going to the door.

"We'd appreciate it if you kept this secret," Sam says, eyes boring into Stephens skull.

"Your secret's safe with me."


	18. Chapter 18

no time to edit so uhhhhhh yeah! thank you all so much for your comments by the way! I love them all so much and I'm so grateful you all take the time to read this and comment! even if my chapter lengths are super random!

~3000~

Tony drummed his fingers nervously on the table before him. His eyes wandered around the room. Pepper watched him with a soft smile as she rested her chin on her hand.

He was nervous, but could you blame him? They were on a date. Granted, they were at Pepper's home on a date. The stress of going out and having to put Tony in a disguise proved to be too much work for the two when all they wanted was a simple date. So, there they were.

Tony was skittish and nervous and Pepper understood. She just watched him with love pooling in her eyes as he glanced around.

"It's been a while since I've done this." He whispers after a moment, his eyes finally dropping to the table as a blush creeps onto his cheeks. "We didn't have a lot of time for dates when everything happened." Pepper's heart breaks for the man in front of her, and she's sure it's not the last time that it'll happen. This man has been through so much and all she wants is for him to feel safe.

"I'm sorry." Tony shakes his head.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for." He tells her truthfully as he raises his blue eyes to meet her own. He has a soft smile on his face and his fingers have finally rested on the table. The house is silent for a few minutes save for the ticking of a clock in the living room.

"Tell me about your family?" Tony's forehead scrunches up at the request. He draws his shoulders in and hunches a little.

"There's not much to tell. You're very similar to my wife." He informs her, relaxing a little as he speaks about her. "I met her outside of work. I was alone and it was night which was stupid of me." He says with a huff. "I should have been at the company, but sometimes it just gets to be too much, so I would need a break. Besides, I wasn't alone in running it." Pepper feels her stomach drop but she doesn't say anything. Tony clears his throat and shifts in his chair. "I was out alone and happened to pass by someone and was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess." He shrugs his shoulders at that and Pepper wishes he wouldn't act as though it was nothing. "He grabbed me and dragged me into the alleyway. He knew who I was, even in the dark." His eyes become shuttered as he continues. "Let's just say things were going downhill fast. I couldn't see well, not with the tears in my eyes." He says that with a blush as though he's ashamed that he had cried. "I yelled for help, hoping that by some miracle someone would be passing by." Tony's eyes crinkle with a smile. "That's when she came around the corner. I was on the ground, the guy was in front of me and I locked eyes with this beautiful lady who showed no fear. In the heat of the moment I couldn't really focus on much, but the next thing I knew, she pulled some pepper spray out of her purse and got the guy good with that."

"She had knelt beside me as things started to hit hard. She cleaned off my face and smiled at me. It was a kind smile. Not one I was expecting. But, she helped me up and helped me back to Stark Tower and that was the last I saw of her for a while." Pepper hums at the story, completely in awe at what had transpired. "Of course, I saw her a few months after that. She was always meant to come save me I suppose. It was in the midst of some chaos during a kidnapping that was going south quickly." She chuckles at his words and he smiles at her knowingly. "That happened a lot with me and Pepper always seemed to be there during those times. Anyway, the guys were trying to get me into a van and there was yelling and fighting and the next thing I know, the guy that had me was on the floor wailing in pain. All I had to do was look up and there she was, my guardian angel. Her face was red and she was pissed. Her hand was gripping that pepper spray like her life depended on it."

"My kind of girl," Pepper says with a laugh. Tony laughs with her and nods.

"You two would have gotten along swimmingly." His smile falls a little as he continues. "We kept going on dates and I eventually proposed to her. Imagine my surprise when she kneeled down as well with a ring." Another soft laugh escapes his lips. "We had a date picked out and everything. But then this happened." He taps the arc reactor with his knuckles. "I was gone for months and when I got back, it was just days away from the wedding. She wanted it postponed so I could recover, but I told her that would fly with me. I had missed and I couldn't wait any longer. Being there, in that cave? It made me really understand what I had." Tony shrugs his shoulders and leans back in his chair. "So, we got married on the set day. It was amazing." Tony coughs a little. "Then I nearly died and there was a betrayal. Then the aliens happened and then after everything crazy, Morgan came along."

"She came along and our world got so much brighter just years before it would go dark again." Tony's head tilts right, then left. "Then Harley happened and a few years after, everything went to shit and you know the rest." He sniffs and she smiles as his nose scrunches up. "Obviously the Avengers happened too, but that isn't as important."

Tony's eyes become misty as quiet washes over the room. A tear rolls down his face and he gives her a watery smile before bursting into tears.

"I miss them so much." He sobs out, shoulders shaking at the force of the tears. Pepper rises from her seat and crouches next to him. She wraps her arms around him and pulls him close. "I miss them." He whispers out. She kisses his head and rests her cheek on his hair.

"I'm sure Pepper and Morgan are watching you right now. We may be in a different universe, but I think they can see you and I think they're always going to be right there with you, no matter what. I know they love you so much and they aren't going anywhere." She pauses as his sobs ring out. "You know what? Neither are we. We won't leave you, Tony. Don't you worry."


	19. Chapter 19

A happy shout out to all the comments on this, but a very special shout out to the guest that decided to bust through 4 chapters and leave comments on each of those chapters. You are amazing. Thank you. I love you.

Clint Barton wasn't stupid.

Well, some may say that was debatable. But he thought he was a pretty smart guy. Or, if not smart, at least very observant.

He was known for being good with his eyes hence his codename, Hawkeye. He saw things most people didn't. Which is why he noticed the strange comings and goings of James Rhodes and Sam Wilson.

Now, Clint didn't follow them at first. He left them to whatever it was they did when they left with each other or just a few minutes after each other. It was after the sixth or seventh time that he started following them just a little.

He would give them at least 30 minutes to go about their day, then he would go out and find them. Most days, they were at the park just talking. Other days, they were with the late Anthony Edward Starks daughter, and wasn't that a little strange?

Since Stark died, the family was never without their faithful bodyguard and family friend Happy Hogan. They were never without him, so why was Morgan with Wilson and Rhodes?

Clint Barton wasn't stupid. He knew what was going on.

Pepper was single now and Clint knew that there used to be something between the bodyguard and CEO.

Instead of going to one of them, he went to Wilson and Rhodes.

"So, what's going on between Hogan and Potts?" He asks, startling the two men as they sit at a park bench watching Morgan play. They whip their heads around, but the expression on Rhodes' face is what gets him.

It's hard and holds no kindness.

"What did you ask?" He snarls at the archer. Sam turns back around, obviously wanting the two to hash it out while he watched over the Stark heir. Clint swallows thickly and his eyes move around the park.

"I was just asking-"

"No. You don't get to ask that sort of thing." Rhodes stands up and places a hand on Wilson's shoulder, whispering to him, but hiding his mouth. Wilson nods and Clint scrunches his forehead. Rhodes grips onto Clint's arm tightly and drags him away from the bench. The archer doesn't try to get away.

"I hit a nerve."

"No shit. What gives you the right to barge in and make wild accusations just a month after my best friend died? What gives you the right to ask that about his wife? His widow? His friend? He died saving you and everyone else on this planet and the thanks you give him is to what? Insinuate that Happy and Pepper are seeing each other? That doesn't seem wrong to you?" The raw emotion that Clint hears in Rhodes' voice is what starts to chip his defenses away.

"Well, why are you two watching the kid anyway?" Anger flashes in Rhodes' eyes and Clint knows he's crossed another line.

"Her name is Morgan." The hardness in his voice chips away at the defenses again. "I don't have to answer any of your questions. I don't care that you came back to help with the stones or the fight. I don't care. You were rotten to Tony. Why should I give you any answers?"

The thing is, Clint Barton isn't stupid.

Except that he is, and he knows it.

"I'm sorry." He whispers, knowing that won't change anything. Knowing it won't fix the past. "You're right."

"I know I am." Another chip. "Leave his family alone." Rhodes lets out a deep breath and turns around back towards Wilson and Morgan. "God knows they've been through a lot."

Rhodes leaves Clint standing there in the shade of the trees. His mind reeling from the encounter. He thought he knew. He thought he saw it all.

So what was he missing?

Rhodes and Wilson weren't the best of pals, especially after Rhodes found out Wilson had stolen the Redwing project.

So why are they looking after the kid together? It doesn't make sense.

"I can smell the overused brain cells from a mile away." A voice drones on from behind him. An old man stands behind him, glasses perched nicely on his nose. "Whatever it is, it's not worth the loss of your brain cells kid. Doesn't seem like you have many anyway." The man walks off and Clint watches him with confusion painted on his face. He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. He sighs and puts his hands in his pockets.

He heeds the man's words and turns.

He may have let the problem drift away for now, but he won't leave it alone forever.


	20. Chapter 20

The door to the Starks home slams open, barely missing the wall. Tony jumps from his spot on the couch, blue eyes wide and worried. Rhodey winces at the sight, giving the man a sheepish smile which is returned softly.

"What's going on?" Tony asks, closing the book he was reading and trying to calm his racing heart. He looks at Sam who's holding Morgan in his arms. The girl is fast asleep and Tony's heart softens at the sight.

"Something happened at the park." Tony blinks at Rhodey's tone, but nods. He rises from his spot on the couch and gets Morgan. The girl doesn't stir as she's transferred to Tony's hold.

"You three are back early." Pepper's voice sounds off from the edge of the living room. Her face falls a little at the tension in the air. "What happened?" Tony's eyes dance from Sam to Rhodey, to Pepper, then to Morgan. He clears his throat and walks over to Pepper.

"This seems important." He whispers, hoping to not wake the sleeping child in his arms. "I'll go put Morgan in her bed then hang out upstairs while you three talk." He tells her with a soft smile on his face. Pepper places a kiss on Morgans head, then one on Tony's. Tony's face heats up and he sputters, trying to get his brain to function. Sam clears his throat and looks the three over.

"I think you should be here for this." He tells Tony, watching him nod before shifting Morgan in his arms.

"Then, I'll be right back." He rushes up the stairs, puts the girl to bed, waits to make sure she won't wake up, then runs back down. When he gets there, the other three are sitting at the table. "So, how bad is it?" He asks, sitting slowly in the chair next to Pepper. She smiles at him and he smiles back.

"How do you know it's bad?" Sam asks, causing Rhodey to laugh next to him.

"It's Tony. He knows when something's up." Tony shoots Rhodey a soft smile. "Anyway, we ran into a little trouble today." Pepper stiffens next to Tony. "Clint caught on to something."

"Barton?" Pepper asks, surprise lacing her features.

"You told me about him." Tony states, wracking his brain for the memory. "What's so bad about him?" Rhodey and Sam look at each other.

"He wasn't your biggest fan." Tony huffs out a laugh and slumps.

"I get the feeling this Tony didn't have many fans among teammates." Pepper holds his hand lightly and Tony squeezes it. "I don't really want to know what happened." Tony shifts in his seat and nods at the other two. "Um, so what's up?"

"He noticed something was off. He noticed Sam and I leaving the tower every so often and he eventually started to follow us. When he saw that we were watching Morgan, his brain jumped to conclusions."

"What sort of conclusions?" Pepper asks, scooting closer to Tony.

"He thought you and Happy were seeing each other after Tony's death." The world screeches to a halt and Tony and Pepper's brains are both working overtime.

"Happy?" Pepper asks, shooting looks to Sam and Rhodey.

"Happy Hogan? That Happy?" Tony asks forehead scrunched up in confusion. Sam and Rhodey exchange looks.

"I guess we shouldn't be surprised that there's a Happy on your world," Sam says, watching Tony carefully.

"I mean yeah. I owe him my life. I would be dead ten times over if it wasn't for him. Between him and Pepper-" His voice breaks off.

"Did Happy die?" Rhodey asks, inching closer and closer to the engineer. Tony blinks and slumps. Pepper places an arm over his shoulder.

"I don't know." He whispers. "He was there when Pepper and Morgan were killed but," his voice breaks and he clears his throat. "I don't know if he's dead or if he's alive. I don't know anything. Oh, God." His breathing picks up and tears flood his vision. "I hate this." He whispers, chest heaving and hands shaking. He can feel Pepper wrap her arms around him, grounding him in the moment. He's safe. He's with people he can trust. Happy's alive here, he knows that much and that's something. That's more than he could ask for.

"That's a good idea." Rhodey's voice slowly takes him out of his panic. His hands still shake and his ears aren't ringing anymore, but he's so tired.

"What's a good idea?" Tony asks voice muffled as he rests his head on Pepper's shoulder, eyes closed but ears wide open.

"We think we should let Happy know about everything. That way, you can see him." Tony smiles at the thought.

"If you're really alright with it." He feels a hand run through his hair and he sighs, leaning into it.

"Of course we're sure." Pepper whispers against his hair, pressing a kiss into it. "Now get some rest dear."


	21. Chapter 21

Happy Hogan wasn't quite sure what to make of the text that Pepper sent him that morning. Now, it wasn't unusual that she would text him. He still came by the house often (though the past few weeks he had been watching over the spider-kid) to watch Morgan and to make sure the two were doing fine.

There was a Tony shaped hole in his life and he could only imagine how bad it must be for Pepper and Morgan. He tried to fill it as best as he could just by being there, but Tony was a special kind of person. He was inimitable. Sure, the spider-kid could be a close second and then there was also that Keener kid that Tony met a while back, but Tony was Tony. There was no other way to put it.

So, when Happy got the text that Pepper sent, asking him to come by the house for a visit, he went right away. He had missed the two and wanted to know how they were doing.

It wasn't long before he arrived at the home. Morgan was standing out there with a smile on her face and her arms waving around. However, there was also another car there and that made Happy's brain start to work in overtime.

It couldn't be a bad thing, because Morgan was out there. She looked happy, so maybe it was someone he knew. His answer came when he pulled up and out stepped James Rhodes and Sam Wilson from the house. This made him think even harder. Something was up, and Happy was about to find out what.

He exited his car and was immediately met with the weight of Morgan on his legs. He laughed and smiled down at her, lifting her into his arms and swinging her around as he walked to the house.

"What's with you two?" He asks, holding Morgan close as he nears Rhodes and Wilson. The two smile at him and it does nothing to calm his nerves.

"See for yourself," Wilson tells him, moving aside and allowing Happy entrance into the home.

"Happy! It's good to see you!" It's Pepper that speaks to him, but his eyes are stuck on the figure that's hidden slightly behind her frame.

"Tony?"Happy's breath leaves him as he takes in the man. That's Tony, but it's not.

"I am Tony, just not yours." He shrugs his shoulders, a sheepish smile on his face. It's then that Happy takes him in. His Arc Reactor is there, not the nanotech one, but the actual reactor. Even more alarming is the blue eyes that stare back at him. Tony clears his throat and shifts his feet. "I'm from a different Earth. A different Universe." His face turns red and he lets out a shaky breath. "I know you don't know me, but can I please hug you?" His voice cracks on the last word and Happy sets Morgan down, watching her run to Rhodes before smiling at the man in front of him.

"Of course." Tony sobs and throws himself at Happy. Happy catches the smaller man easily and holds him tight, trying to ignore the shaking shoulders. "You have a lot of explaining to do." Tony breaks into a laugh and nods.

"I know." Happy's heart clenches at the feeling of the man in his arms. He missed him, and yeah, he's not his Tony, but he's still great.

"We'll take Morgan out." Rhodey calls and Tony laughs in Happy's hold.

"I hope she isn't getting sick of the park." He says, face still hidden in Happy's form.

"Take her for ice cream," Pepper says. The three wait until Morgan, Rhodey, and Wilson leave, then Tony sags in Happy's arms.

"I have a feeling this isn't the happiest of stories." Happy guesses, maneuvering himself and Tony to the couch with Pepper close behind. Tony only lets go of Happy once they're seated on the couch. Tony twists his hands and Happy can't help but think how similar he is to their Tony. Happy casts a look at Pepper, hoping she can get the meaning behind it and watches her face as it breaks into a soft, sad smile.

"It's really not," Tony whispers, finally looking up and letting his eyes drift to Pepper. "You don't have to listen to this again." He tells her. Pepper shakes her head and reaches for one of his hands.

"I'm not leaving you." It's so familiar to Happy that his heart breaks a little more. Tony nods at her and Happy doesn't miss the tears in his eyes.

They're all crying at the end of Tony's tale.

Happy's got the man wrapped in the tightest hug he can muster and Pepper's rubbing Tony's back and the only sound is of them crying.

"I didn't know if you were still alive, so when I heard you were here, I needed to see you," Tony whispers through his sobs.

"I'm here." Happy whispers, tears falling from his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."


	22. Chapter 22

Morgan's already at school by the time Tony gets up the next morning. He had slept in late, feeling exhausted from the previous days' events. He can hear noise coming from downstairs and he hopes it's Pepper, but wouldn't be upset if it were Rhodey.

Tony stretches his arms over his head and lays in bed a while longer just staring at the ceiling. He felt so calm here. He felt like he could relax. It was a feeling he missed greatly.

"Tony?" Tony turns his head to face the door and he smiles softly at Pepper. She gives him an equally soft smile and leans her head against the doorframe. "How are you feeling?" Tony sits up and rubs his dry eyes.

"Exhausted." He informs her with a laugh. She hums at him and walks into the room before sitting on the bed next to him. He leans his head onto her shoulder and just breathes deeply for a few minutes. "Breakfast is ready, even though it's already noon." Tony feels his face flush and he lets out an embarrassed laugh. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Pepper brushes a hand over his hair. "Last night was hard."

"I don't think the nights are going to get any easier if new people keep entering my life that I knew on my Earth." He mumbles, hoping that introductions are over but knowing deep down that they won't be. He clears his throat and lifts his head up. He smiles at the woman sitting next to him. "What's this I hear about breakfast?" Pepper huffs and playfully rolls her eyes before standing and pulling Tony up with her. She presses a chaste kiss to Tony's lips and Tony's left reeling after it.

"My pancakes are nothing compared to yours, but I thought you might like them." He lets her pull him out of the room and down the stairs to the dining room. There's a plate of pancakes in the center of the table and Tony sits down softly, smiling up at Pepper as she ruffles his hair before sitting down next to him. His eyes track her movements the whole time and her face goes red.

"I love you." He tells her softly.

"I love you more."

After the declarations of love, breakfast is a mostly silent affair. Tony's mind is running faster than it has in a while, but nothing that goes through his mind is useful.

They clean up the dinner table silently before they move to the couch, but Tony stops, his eyes latching onto something he hadn't really paid attention to before. His eyebrows furrow and he takes a step closer to it, his hand leaving Peppers.

"What is this?" He asks, stopping only a few inches away from it. Pepper stands next to him and places a hand on the while topped table. She brings her hand up and a hologram follows it. Tony's breathing leaves his body quickly. It's exactly like his technology at home. His eyes track the project in front of him and he moves it every which way. "Is this what I think it is?" He asks, not really expecting an answer from Pepper.

"His time travel technology?" It's posed as a question, and Tony nods his head.

"He really did it." He whispers, his eyes moving quickly over the design. Pepper places a hand on Tony's shoulder and he looks at her. She's got tears in her eyes and Tony's heart aches for her. He quickly collapses the design and pulls her into a hug. Her face is pressed into his neck and he holds her close, rocking her back and forth slowly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up memories." She shakes her head against his skin and she sniffles loudly.

"It's not your fault." He makes out the muffled words.

"I'm still sorry." They stand there for a few minutes before Pepper's run out of tears. She clears her throat and lifts her head from his shoulder. Her eyes are red and there are tear tracks running down her face, but she's still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He cups her cheek and runs a thumb up and down the skin there.

The lovely moment is broken by the door to the home swinging open. Both Tony and Pepper jump before they're head swivel in that direction. Rhodey's there with Sam and Happy. The three men are out of breath and Tony raises an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" Rhodey gestures outside with this thumb whilst gulping down air.

"Outside." He gasps out. Tony's eyes narrow a little in thought before he decides it's safe to go out there. Pepper follows closely behind him and the three other men follow as well, still gulping down fresh air. Tony steps out onto the lawn and his breathing hitches. His body goes cold and his eyes go wide.

"Please no." He whispers, fear taking over. Pepper grips his arm tightly, but Tony barely registers it.

There's a fissure in the sky.

"It's identical to the one you came through." Pepper breathes out and Tony nods, breathing harshly. It's smaller though, and Tony can only hope it'll go away before growing or even opening.

Hope sometimes doesn't work out.

The fissure opens and Tony's breathing stops. He can briefly see a face in the fissure before something falls through. The object falls to the ground, but Tony isn't watching. He's looking at the face above him. The face smiles at him and waves before the fissure closes.

Tony swallows harshly before letting a shaky breath out.

"Oh, God." Pepper breathes out. Tony shakes himself and follows her gaze. He can hear whispers around him from the others as well.

Their eyes are all locked on the object. Tony takes a shaky step forward, but someone grabs him. He starts and turns wild eyes on the person holding him. It's Rhodey, and his eyes are soft.

"Stay here." Tony shakily nods before grasping onto Pepper's hand tightly. Everyone watches with bated breath as Rhodey makes his way to the object. "Shit." Rhodey spits out before turning the object over.

Tony crashes to his knees as he vomits all over the grass.

The head of Harold "Happy" Hogan stares unseeingly at him.


	23. Chapter 23

Yo thanks so much for all the reviews. I seriously appreciate them so much! Y'all are awesome!

* * *

Tony swallowed convulsively, his throat working in overtime to stop the vomit that threated to escape his body. His brain wouldn't let the image of the head leave him alone. His hands tightened around the waste bucket that sat on his lap. He raised his head to look at the others in the room, slightly pleased to note that they were also looking unwell.

Tony's eyes stayed on Happy's figure, reassuring himself that this Happy was still here.

The image flashed in his mind once more, and he couldn't stop the contents of his stomach from coming up this time. His eyes dripped with tears as his body convulsed. His stomach hurt, and he was sure at this point all he was bringing up was bile.

"'M sorry." He mumbled, eyes clenched close and chest heaving.

"There was someone else there," Rhodey's soft voice broke through Tony's gagging. Tony took a deep breath. "Wasn't there?" Tony nods and finally feels well enough to lift his head once more. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, paying no attention to the look of disgust Sam sent him.

"It was Adam." He whispers through a wrecked voice. Tony swallows once more, gripping the waste bucket tighter. His fingers hurt and he knew the blood flow was cut off from them. It was going to hurt once he released the death grip on the bucket. A wet cloth is brushed against his face and Tony allows his body to sag. "I don't know how he did it." He whispers, eyes shut. "If he somehow managed to recreate the portal opening, then I don't know how much time is left before he's able to make one big enough to get himself and others through here." His heart hurts at the idea of his biggest nightmare coming to find him.

"I'm sorry." He says once more. "I didn't mean for this to happen." Tears prickle at the back of his eyes.

"I'm gonna kill him." Tony's head snaps up, his blue eyes meeting Rhodey's furious brown ones.

"What?" Tony is perplexed.

"I'm in." Happy says with a shrug, leaning back in his seat and looking less pale that he had before. Tony blinks at the two. "He's coming right?" Tony nods, albeit reluctantly. "Then let's get him."

"Why?" Tony asks, confused at the words coming from his new friends' mouths.

"He's put you through hell. Look at what just the sight of him is doing to you." Tony huffs out a laugh at Sam's statement.

"I think the sight of Happy's head is getting to me more than seeing Adam for a few seconds is." He mutters with a small smile.

"Don't tell me that man doesn't haunt your dreams every night." Tony freezes and hunches in on himself, not wanting to hear the words coming from their mouths. "He's hurt you in so many ways. You finally get away from him, but you'll never really be rid of him. Not until he's dead."

"It's funny, someone said that exact same thing to me about my brother." The strained atmosphere in the room changes quickly to concern and confusion. Tony catches the odd looks they send him and Pepper sits down on the couch next to him.

"Your brother?" She asks. "What happened with him?" Tony brings trembling fingers up to his arc reactor and taps it lightly. The gesture is both out of nervousness and to get their attention.

"My arc reactor was installed to keep shrapnel out of my heart, and to keep it beating." He starts the story. "I'm assuming your Tony was the same?" They all nod at him. "The Ten Rings?" More nods. Tony hums. "Who organized the hit?" He asks softly, fingers still tapping a rhythm against the reactor. "Because my brother organized mine." He informs them, a strained smile gracing his lips at the sounds of gasps that fill the air. "He wanted me gone. Our father thought I was the one that should be in charge of the company when the time was right. Arno was not my biggest fan. He was insane." He sighs and drops his hand from his reactor. "After I had miraculously escaped whilst almost dying because my heart couldn't take the strain of flying the first armor, I dug deep."

"I looked into everything. They had my weapons, and I wanted to know how they got them. So I dug. What I found scared me." His voice broke a little and he could feel Pepper's hand on his shoulder. "Arno set the whole thing up. He was hoping I was going to die there." Tony puts his hands up and smiles. "That didn't work so well for him." Tony swallowed. "I confronted him about it. He said there wasn't anything I could do about it. What could I do? I couldn't fight him. He was younger than me, but I was still recovering and I had always been the softer of the two. Even without a bum ticker, I knew I couldn't do anything."

"For months he tormented me. He haunted my every waking moment. I thought I would be free from him in my sleep, but that didn't happen. That wasn't the worst part though. The worst part was that he threatened to harm the ones I loved if I said anything. I couldn't handle thinking about what he would have done to my Pepper or to my Rhodey. So I stayed silent, thinking of something I could do." Tony smiles. "He slipped up. He didn't expect Pepper. She had overheard him talking, then did the digging herself and came up with a plan to expose him." Tony clears his throat. "Word got out about the weapons, about my capture. Arno fought back against everything they threw at him. I think at some point, he cracked. Our minds can only take so much hate and scrutiny. He snapped."

"He came to my home and ripped the reactor from my chest, smashing it to pieces right in front of me." Tony laughs a little. "No one ever expects the girlfriend though."

"Pepper saved you." Tony nods at Rhodey's observation.

"She shot him. Killed him right there, then freaked out over me. She didn't care that she had just killed a man. She told the police it was self-defense." Tony shrugs. "I shut down the weapons development part of Stark International. And that was that." Tony's take is met with silence. "Who ordered the hit on your Tony?" He asks, curiosity lacing his slightly shaky voice. His new friends all share a look that only ramps the curiosity up even more.

"Obidiah Stane." Tony's breath leaves his body in a rush.

"You don't say." He says breathlessly. "I feel like I should be more surprised."

"You're not?" Sam asks. Tony shakes his head.

"Uncle Obie's always been a little jealous, but he would never do that to me." It's what Tony believed, and he stuck with it.


	24. Chapter 24

I rushed this but at least we get to see our two favorite kids!

* * *

Harley Keener rarely made his way to New York. It was far out of his way, and he didn't like leaving his sister or his mother. However, thanks (or rather no thanks) to the funeral that occurred months ago, he had made a new friend, one that was as equally distraught by the loss of one Anthony Edward Stark as he was.

Peter Parker was someone Harley wasn't sure he was going to get along with. He could see that the other boy held Tony close to his heart. Harley was always afraid of some competition that would pit the two against each other in a battle of "Who Did Tony Care For More?". Luckily, that had never happened.

The two had hit it off right away. They swapped stories about their friend, shed some tears and laughed until their stomachs ached. Their love of science and engineering helped as well.

Harley could remember when Mrs. Stark had come up to the two of them after the funeral. She had a sad smile on her face and her eyes were red. She had told them how much Tony had loved them, how much he had cared for them and that he would be happy knowing that his two favorite kids were getting along.

Harley tried to stop the burning at the back of his throat as tears threatened to emerge. One quick look at Peter and he could tell he was doing the same.

So, that's what happened. The two became friends and Harley made it a point to meet up with Peter whenever he could.

It had gotten easier when he started training with the Iron Man armor that Tony had started building for him. Peter and Harley had both met up in the beginning to finish the job. Once that had been completed, the two started training together.

It had been a start to a beautiful friendship that Harley knew Tony would be proud of.

"Harley?" Harley stops in his tracks. He's not far from Peter's home, so he's a little surprised at the voice that calls his name. Harley turns and faces the woman who had called out his name. Harley's face breaks into a smile at the sight of Pepper Stark. The widow's face also cracks into a smile and she wraps the boy into a hug that Harley was sure could kill a man. "What are you doing here?" Harley chuckles and wraps his arms around her as well.

"I could ask you the same thing." Pepper releases him and Harley beams at her. "Aren't you a little far from home?" He asks, the question accompanied by a head tilt.

"I'm coming to see Peter." She says, as though that would explain everything. Luckily, it does.

"So am I."

"We could walk together." She suggests. Harley nods and follows in step with her to Peter's home. "How often do you come to see Peter?" She asks, eyes drifting to him.

"Whenever I can." He tells her. "It's not as often as I would like, but it's often enough. We usually just chat about school, science, homework, that sort of stuff."

"Liar." She accuses with a laugh. Harley joins her and puts his hands up.

"We also train." Pepper's heart beats faster for a moment.

"I'm glad you two get along." She says truthfully and softly. "I know Tony would be very happy about that." Harley hums and nods.

"How are you and Morgan?" He asks, veering into another conversation.

"Holding on. It's hard some days."

"I get it." He whispers. The conversation ends, but Harley can hear the cogs turning in Pepper's head. He wants to ask what's wrong, but he also doesn't want to pry.

The two continue on their way in silence and finally, after what feels like forever, they end up in front of Peter's front door. The two shuffle awkwardly outside before laughing lightly. Harley waves a hand in front of him, letting her know she can be the one to knock.

A few moments after the knock sounds, they can hear the sound of socked feet running across the floor before a muffled 'ow' rings out.

"Peter Parker how many times have I told you to not run around with socks on!" May's voice is loud even with the door shut. Harley winces at the yelling, though he knows the woman is joking.

The door opens and there stands Peter Parker with socked feet and a sheepish expression on his face.

"Hey, Harley." Peter turns his attention to Pepper. "Hey, Mrs. Stark." Pepper and Harley smile at him.

"Hi, May." Pepper calls out, making her way into the home and to the woman that just berated the spider kid.

"What a surprise, seeing you both here. It must be our lucky day." May gives Pepper a hug and both Peter and Harley watch on.

"It's good to see you," Pepper tells her, honesty flooding the words.

"What brings you by?" She asks, leading Pepper over to the couch.

"Uh, we'll just be in my room," Peter calls out after Harley elbows him. Harley pushes Peter to his room and shuts the door after them. "Dude!"

"Something's going on." Harley rushes out. Peter blinks at him.

"What do you mean?" Harley paces and pushes a hand through his hair.

"I mean that on the way over, I met up with Pepper. We talked, but she seemed off. Something's on her mind and it's bothering her."

"Do you think something bad's happened?" Peter asks, worry clouding his voice. Harley plops down on Peter's bed.

"I hope not. She said Morgan and her were doing fine, but what if she has to say that? What if something bad really is happening and she can't tell us?" Peter sits down next to him. The two boys sit in silence for a moment.

"Harley! Peter!" May's voice calls out from the other room. The boys share a look and shrug at each other before getting up. Peter opens the door and Harley walks out. He can feel Peter behind him.

"What's up aunt May?" Peter asks. Harley can practically feel the concern washing over his friend, and it's not long before he feels it too.

Harley catches Pepper's eye and she sends him a reassuring smile. He tries his best to send one back, but he knows it must look as odd as it feels.

"Why don't you boys come and sit down?" Pepper asks, her voice soft as if not wanting to spook them. Harley and Peter exchange a look before shrugging and walking over to the two women. The two sit and Harley swallows harshly. "I need to show you something and it might seem odd or fake at first, but trust me, it's real.." Harley and Peter look at each other again before giving her their attention once more. Pepper holds up her phone and the boys' eyes widen.

"Hello Mr. Keener, Mr. Parker. It's nice to meet you."

"Mr. Stark?!"


	25. Chapter 25

_Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites! Y'all rock!_

* * *

_3 hours earlier_

"So, the kids," Tony wanted to start the conversation a little subtler than that, but his mind was busy and subtlety wasn't at the front of his mind right now. "Parker and Keener." He can feel the eyes of Happy, Rhodey, and Sam all on him. Pepper had left a while ago to go pick up Morgan from school.

"What about them?" The hesitation in Sam's voice made Tony smile.

"I freaked out about them a few days ago. Remember?" Sam and Rhodey both nod.

"You weren't too happy to find out they were Avengers."

"From what I gathered, your Tony was very close to both of them."

"You weren't close to both of them on your Earth?" Happy asks and Tony forgets that Happy doesn't know about this part of his life. Tony smiles at him and shakes his head.

"No. At least, I didn't know Peter too well. Pepper and I were going to adopt Harley and his sister before everything with Adam happened." Tony's slightly more at ease and peace with this part of the story, though he still felt his heart twinge at the thought of the kids. "Harley and his sister were told to hide. I don't even know if they're alive." He whispers, pushing any tears he might have back. "Peter was an intern. I talked with him a few times but not all that much. I was, unfortunately, very busy at the time of his internship. He died in a plane crash. The same way his parents died." Tony's shoulder droops with the comforting weight of Happy's hand.

"So, what brought up those two?" Rhodey inquires. Tony sighs and slumps a little as he gathers his thoughts.

"Threat is imminent." He starts, licking his lips as he thinks. "Adam is coming here and I don't think we can stop him. I hate to say it, but if they're training, and if they're as good as you say they are, then we're going to need their help." It pains him to say it. He would rather the two teenagers stay on the sidelines and not get involved. "I would also like to meet them." He adds, letting his blue eyes flick up to the others in the room. He smiles at the thought of seeing them.

"Would you be able to handle that?" Rhodey asks, obviously concerned about Tony's mental wellbeing. The question almost catches Tony off guard. He thinks about it, then smiles again.

"There's only one way to find out, right?"

"That's not-"

"I don't think-"

"How about no?" All three of the other men in the room speak at once and Tony laughs at their responses.

"C'mon guys," he starts through his laughter. "Is it really me if I don't do something rash?"

"Why are we talking about Tony doing something rash?" Tony whips his head around at the sound of Pepper's voice. He breaks into a sheepish smile as he takes in the look on her face. Pepper looks like she wants to say more, but Morgan pushes past her and throws herself at Tony. Tony lets out an 'oof' as her tiny body collides with his. He's not fast enough to catch her so they end up on the floor with Morgan laughing in his ear. He breaks out into a wider smile and joins her in her laughter.

"How was school?" He asks after catching his breath. He ignores the way his lungs twinge and just continues to smile at her. She smiles down at him and her hair tickles his face.

"Boring." She groans out before plopping her head down onto his chest. Her forehead gets dangerously close to the reactor and he worries about her accidentally splitting her head open on it.

"Oh?" He asks, lifting the two of them up so he's sitting with his back against the couch. His eyes trail to Pepper for a moment before wincing at the look in her eyes. "How about you take uncle Rhodey to the kitchen to grab a snack and you can tell me all about school after that?" He raises an eyebrow and keeps a playful smile on his face. Morgan's smile widens and she frantically pushes herself off of Tony and rushes to Rhodey. She pulls Rhodey up off his seat with her hands gripping one of his hands.

Tony watches as they leave, Rhodey playfully grumbling on the way there. His smile turns sheepish as he turns his attention back to the fiery red-head. Her arms are crossed and she's got an eyebrow raised.

"What rash thing are you doing?" Her voice is low and dangerous and Tony clumps into himself at the sound.

"It's nothing terrible, I promise."

"Oh?" She doesn't sound terribly convinced at that, and really, he doesn't blame her.

"It's true." Happy's voice breaks into the conversation and Tony makes a note to make him something as thanks. Pepper seems to believe Happy and she drops her arms.

"Explain." So he does, with Sam and Happy adding in their thoughts as well. Pepper sighs and puts a hand on her temple, rubbing slow circles into the spot. The men wait with bated breath.

"You want to put your already very fragile state of mind at risk because you want to meet two kids?"

"Yes?" Pepper sighs and Tony quickly tries to make things better. "They're two kids that I knew before I came here. Two kids that I miss and would love to see again." He rushes the words out, praying that it would help. "You have to trust me. I know what I'm doing could hurt me. I'm probably going to cry, and I'm probably going to panic, but please let me do this." His pleading tone seems to wear her down with every word.

Eventually, she sighs and drops her hand.

"If you think you can handle it, then we'll do it." They all know Tony won't really be able to handle it all that well, but he's more than willing to try.

"Thank you."

"We're going to do this my way first though." A confused look passes over Tony's face and he knows that Sam and Happy also have that look. "I'm going to go see Peter. From there, I'll talk to his aunt first. After I've talked to her about it, I'll let you video chat with him for a moment. If you handle that alright, then we'll let you meet face to face." Tony thinks it over. "I just don't want you to hurt anymore than you already are."

"And Harley?"

"Harley lives in Tennessee. We'll call him later after we get Peter done first." Tony agrees and Pepper thinks it's best to get on with it, so she leaves the four men with her daughter while she goes to meet Peter.

Meeting Harley along the way is helpful to the plan. She can tell that he sees something is off with her, but she brushes off the concern pulsing off his body.

After getting to the door and knocking, the two boys go into Peter's room and Peper explains things to May. She's confused at first but thinks it would be a good idea. So, they call the boys in. Pepper starts the call and when she sees Tony's timid face, she turns the phone to the boys.

She watches their faces drop in surprise.

"Hello Mr. Keener, Mr. Parker. It's nice to meet you." Tony's voice is soft and quickly drowned out by the two young boys in front of her.

"Mr. Stark?!"


	26. Chapter 26

Seeing the look of shock on the boys' faces made Tony's heartache just a little. The look of disbelief hurt even more. He was wearing the face of their dead friend. Of course, they would be shocked and in disbelief at the sight of him. He was faced with a similar feeling of seeing the boys.

"I'm sure you can tell I'm not really the Tony you knew." He whispers, voice careful and kind as he speaks to them. There's silence on the other end of the phone and Tony gathers his thoughts. "I'm from a different universe." He explains, lifting his eyes and smiling kindly at them. He watches them relax slightly and feels himself relax as well.

"Yeah, your um," Peter begins, pointing up to his own eyes. "Your eyes are different." Tony laughs a little at his observation.

"You still have your reactor." Harley pipes up, looking at the bright light that shines through Tony's shirt.

"I know it's confusing and maybe a little odd, but when I heard you two were on this Earth, I thought it would be best to meet you. Especially after hearing about what happened." Tony swallows and the air is thick with the threat of panic. "I know you were good friends with the Tony of this Earth and I'm sorry for your loss."

"Do we exist on your Earth?" Peter asks and Tony tries to calm his rapidly beating heart. He bounces his knee and nods.

"Yeah." He chokes out, voice threatening to crack with the threat of tears looming at the back of his throat. Tony watches as Harley and Peter share a look. It's Pepper who breaks into the conversation before they can ask the question he knows is burning at the front of their minds.

"This is a conversation you three can have face to face." She says, and Tony sends his thanks to her via a shaky smile. She returns it with a less shaky smile. "So, let's get you two into the car that I know is waiting outside and you three can meet tony." And gosh, isn't that a weird sentence to hear. He's sure it sounds even weirder to the two boys in front of him, but they don't show their reaction to the sentence, they just nod and Tony can see tears glistening in their eyes.

So, with a wobbly smile and a shaky finger, he ends the call and breathes heavily into the room.

"This is gonna be rough." He mumbles, running a hand through his hair. He feels someone press down on his shoulder and he glances up. Rhodey smiles down at him and sits in front of him. Happy had left with Pepper and Sam was keeping Morgan company outside. He feels bad for the girl. He doesn't spend much time with her and he knows she just wants to be with him.

They haven't found the courage to tell the child that Tony isn't really her father, but if Tony knows this child like she's his own, she's already figured it out.

"You gonna be alright?" Rhodey asks concern clouding his eyes. Tony clasps a hand on top of Rhodey's as it still sits on his shoulder. He squeezes it and sends his friend a watery smile.

"I don't know." His voice breaks and tears fall. Rhodey brings the smaller man into his hold and rocks him back and forth. He's about to see two kids that he hasn't seen in a long time. He remembers feeling his heart jolt when he first saw them through the phone and he doesn't know if he'll survive seeing them face to face.

"We can call this off if you need to. You're worked up already and I know you got your heart mostly working, but all this panicking can't be good for it." Rhodey whispers to him and Tony's thankful for the support his friend lends him. Tony sniffles and shakes his head.

He pushes himself out of his friend's embrace but doesn't break the light hold Rhodey's arms still have on him. He brushes his hands across his eyes, trying to clear out any of the tears that still linger there. He clears his throat and smiles brightly at Rhodey.

"You'll stay, right?" He asks, trying to keep his panic at bay. Rhodey smiles at him and nods.

"This is something you should do yourself, but you know I'll be right in the other room." Tony nods and thanks his friend.

The sound of tires and car doors opening and closing is what brings Tony out of his cheerfulness and back into slightly panic.

"It's gonna be okay," Rhodey tells him. Tony nods and shifts on the couch. Rhodey's arms drop from his friends back and he squeezes his hand instead. "You got this."

"Mr. Stark?" Tony sucks in a breath and turns his head to face the two boys standing in the doorway.

"Hey, kids." He says shakily. All too quickly, he's body-slammed by the two boys. The air leaves his lungs and he can feel tears running down his neck and he realizes they aren't his tears. Tony's hands move from their spot in the air and down to the boys' backs. He pats them, then rubs up and down in a comforting motion.

He flicks his eyes up past the boys' head and locks eyes with Pepper, then sees Rhodey next to her with Happy behind them. They're crying and that starts up the tears for Tony once more. He sobs and ducks his head in between the boys' shoulders.

It seems like years have passed once the tears mostly stop. The two teens raise their head and smile at him.

"Hi." He breathes out. He shifts and clears his throat. "I guess I can do some explaining now if you'd like." The two nod their heads so fast, Tony's afraid they might pull something. He chuckles and shifts, dislodging the boys from his neck. They stay plastered to his sides on the couch. "I'm gonna make this as short and simple as I can because, in all honesty, I've had way too many panic attacks today to be safe." He laughs in an attempt to wash away their worry, but it only makes it bigger. He quiets their worries and tells them the short version.

"My home was taken over by an alien." Tony swallows and realizes this is going to be difficult no matter what. "Um, he killed a lot of people that I loved." His voice cracks and he feels the boys' press closer to them. "I lost my wife, my daughter, and my friends. They wanted me to make something, and when I wasn't working hard or fast enough, they killed people. I don't know how it happened, but at some point, a portal opened up beneath me and I ended up on your Earth."

"However, they've figured out how to open that portal and they're trying to get into this universe and either take me back or try to take over your world."

"You can't go back with them," Harley whispers, anger in his voice.

"They'll have to go through us," Peter says, and that sends Tony over the edge. His breathing picks up and his ears ring.

"D-don't say th-that." He can hardly hear his own words and as his world darkens once again, he hears his daughter's voice.

"Daddy?"


End file.
